Doctor–patient Communication in Chinese and Western Medicine (Routledge Studies in Language, Health and Culture)

Drawing on naturally occurring doctor– patient conversations in real- life medical consultations, this book analyzes the similarities and differences in doctor– patient communication and patient satisfaction between traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine (WM) practiced in China. Little research is available looking at WM being practiced in Asian countries, and misunderstanding about Eastern medicines such as TCM can result in unwarranted claims and suspicions. This volume contributes to research on doctor– patient communication by exploring the communication behaviors between doctors and older patients who are able to communicate independently in both TCM and WM practiced in mainland China and evaluating patient satisfaction with their medical experiences. The book reports findings and insights from three independent and methodologically diverse studies, drawing on data from 69 real- life medical consultations: 30 from TCM and 39 from WM. Using conversation analysis, the Roter Interaction Analysis System, and both quantitative and qualitative methods, Ying Jin examines the differences between TCM and WM to help reveal the dynamics of doctor– patient interactions, the contextual details, and the impact of the clinical culture on medical communication. This insightful book will appeal to scholars and students from linguistics, language, and health communication as well as medical practitioners interested in doctor– patient communication and intercultural communication. The findings reported here will shine a light on the relationship between clinical differences, health communication, and patient outcomes. Cover Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents Figures Tables Acknowledgments 1 Medical Coexistence 1.1 Overview: Communication and Medicine 1.2 Medical Coexistence in China 1.2.1 Chinese Medicine: Traditions, Theories, and Therapeutic Methods 1.2.2 Integrating TCM and WM: Medical Dualism in China 1.3 Organization of the Book References 2 Preliminaries and Methodology 2.1 Doctor–older Patient Communication and Patient Satisfaction 2.1.1 From Doctor-Centric to Patient-Centered 2.1.2 Features of Doctor-Older Patient Communication 2.2 A Critique of Current Studies in Doctor-Older Patient Communication 2.2.1 Insufficient Understanding of Medical Interactions in Regular Chronic Visits 2.2.2 Insufficient Understanding of Medical Interactions in TCM and WM 2.2.3 Extending Current Research in TCM and WM Practiced in China 2.3 Data Sources and Transcription Conventions 2.4 Methodology Used for Three Separate Studies 2.4.1 Process/interaction Analysis 2.4.2 Evaluating Patient Satisfaction 2.4.3 Conversation Analysis 2.4.4 Frame Analysis 2.5 Summary References 3 Interaction Analysis 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Coding Conventions and Calculation of Utterances 3.3 Results 3.3.1 Some Descriptives of Doctor–patient Communication 3.3.2 Doctor’s Verbal Dominance and Patient-Centeredness 3.4 Commonalities Between TCM and WM 3.4.1 Doctor’s Dominance and Patient Passivity in Asking Questions 3.4.2 Patients’ High Level of Agreement 3.4.3 Concentration On Biomedical Discussions 3.4.4 Doctors’ Use of Backchannels and Directive Statements 3.5 Differences Between TCM and WM 3.5.1 Content of Questions and Information-Giving 3.5.2 Social Talk and Emotional Alignment 3.5.3 Doctors’ Facilitating Behaviors 3.5.4 Communication Patterns 3.6 Summary References 4 Patient Evaluation and Satisfaction 4.1 Understanding Patient Satisfaction 4.2 Relational Communication Scale 4.3 Results 4.4 Discussion 4.5 Summary References 5 ‘Come and See Me Later With Your Diagnostic Test Results’ 5.1 Introduction 5.2 After Patient Problem Presentation 5.3 After the Patient’s Orientation Toward the Relevance of Diagnostic Testing 5.4 After History-Taking Questions 5.5 ‘Come and See Me Later With Your Diagnostic Test Results’ 5.6 Summary References 6 Lifestyle Advice-Giving and Reception 6.1 Introduction 6.2 The Concept of Lifestyle 6.3 Lifestyle Advice After the Formulation of a Problem 6.4 Lifestyle Advice After Diagnosis 6.5 Lifestyle Advice in Closing-Relevant Environments 6.6 Summary References 7 Nonmedical Small Talk 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Defining Small Talk 7.3 Small Talk at Medical Openings 7.3.1 Formulaic Sequence of Greeting 7.3.2 Social Talk at Medical Openings 7.3.3 Administrative Talk at Medical Openings 7.4 Small Talk at Medical Closings 7.4.1 Social Talk at Medical Closings 7.4.2 Thanking Formulae (1) TCM and WM Have Different Approaches for Diagnosis and Treatment, Which Affects the Communication Practice in Medical Encounters. (2) Medical Consultations in Routine Encounters Are Instrumental and Task-Oriented. This Is Particularly the Case in WM Encounters. 7.5 Summary References 8 Summary, Implications, and Future Directions 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Revisiting the Research Design and Objectives 8.3 A Synthesized Summary of the Findings 8.4 Implications and Future Directions 8.4.1 Implications for Communication and Discourse Scholars and Health Practitioners 8.4.2 A Longitudinal Study of Routine Encounters 8.4.3 Communication in Other Modalities References Index "Drawing on naturally-occurring doctor-patient conversations in real-life medical consultations, this book analyses the similarities and differences in doctor-patient communication and patient satisfaction between traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and western medicine (WM) practiced in China. Little research is available looking at WM being practiced in Asian countries and misunderstanding about eastern medicines such as TCM can result in unwarranted claims and suspicions. This volume contributes to research on doctor-patient communication by exploring the communication behaviors between doctors and older patients who are able to communicate independently in both Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Western Medicine (WM) practiced in Mainland China and evaluating patient satisfaction of their medical experiences. The book reports findings and insights from three independent and methodologically diverse studies, drawing on data from sixty-nine real-life medical consultations: 30 from TCM and 39 from WM. Using Conversation analysis, Roter Interaction Analysis System and both quantitative and qualitative methods, Ying Jin examines the differences between TCM and WM to help reveal the dynamics of doctor-patient interactions, the contextual details, and the impact of the clinical culture on medical communication. This insightful book will appeal to scholars and students from linguistics, language and health communication as well as medical practitioners interested in doctor-patient communication, and intercultural communication. The findings reported here will shine a light into the relationship between clinical differences, health communication, and patient outcomes"-- Provided by publisher