Chapter 11
Whose common ground?
Analyzing communication between physiotherapists and patients in a Hungarian hospital
The chapter examines 76 audio-recorded first encounters between physiotherapists (PT) and patients. It argues that the knowledge translation during a medical visit starts by fully understanding the patient’s agenda. There are four main foci of the analysis: (1) the classification of PTs’ opening questions, which initiate the problem presentation phase of the visit, (2) the classification of patients’ answers given to those questions, (3) analyzing the relations between these question-answer pairs, and (4) the identification of dialogical mechanisms that may help or hinder the creation of common ground. Within the last aspect, the analysis demonstrates three main communicative practices: meaning negotiation and summary, question-answer style, and redirection. The first one is argued to best enhance the co-construction of common ground.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 1.1Common ground and the socio-cognitive approach
- 1.2The opening question and the problem presentation phase of the visit
- 1.3The goal and structure of the chapter
- 2.Data and method
- 2.1General description of the data
- 2.2Methodological considerations
- 3.Results
- 3.1Physiotherapists’ Opening Questions (OpQ)
- 3.2Patients’ answers (T2)
- 3.3Relations between physiotherapists’ opening questions and patients’ answers
- 3.3.1Qualitative results
- 3.3.2Quantitative results
- 4.Dialogical mechanisms and the creation of common ground
- 5.Conclusion
-
Notes
-
References
-
Appendix
References (56)
Ainsworth-Vaughn, Nancy
1998 Claiming Power in Doctor-Patient Talk.
Oxford Studies in Sociolinguistics. New York: Oxford University Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Allan, Keith
2013 “
What Is Common Ground?” In
Perspectives on Linguistic Pragmatics, edited by
Alessandro Capone,
Franco Lo Piparo, and
Marco Carapezza, 2:285–310.
Perspectives in Pragmatics, Philosophy & Psychology. Cham: Springer International Publishing.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bara, Bruno G.
2017 “
Cognitive Pragmatics”. In
The Oxford Handbook of Pragmatics, edited by
Yan Huang, 1:279–99. Oxford: University Press.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Beckman, Howard B., and Richard M. Frankel
1984 “
The Effect of Physician Behavior on the Collection of Data.”
Annals of Internal Medicine 101 (5): 692–96.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bigi, Sarah
2016 Communicating (with) Care: A Linguistic Approach to the Study of Doctor-Patient Interactions. Amsterdam: IOS Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Boyd, Elizabeth, and John Heritage
2006 “
Taking the History: Questioning during Comprehensive History-Taking”. In
Communication in Medical Care, edited by
John Heritage and
Douglas W. Maynard, 151–84. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Brinjikji, W., P. H. Luetmer, B. Comstock, B. W. Bresnahan, L. E. Chen, R. A. Deyo, S. Halabi, et al.
2015 “
Systematic Literature Review of Imaging Features of Spinal Degeneration in Asymptomatic Populations.”
American Journal of Neuroradiology 36 (4): 811–16.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Clark, Herbert H.
1996 Using Language. 1st ed. Cambridge University Press.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Clark, Herbert H., and Edward F. Schaefer
1989 “
Contributing to Discourse.”
Cognitive Science 13 (2): 259–94.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Clark, Jack A., and Elliot G. Mishler
1992 “
Attending to Patients’ Stories: Reframing the Clinical Task.”
Sociology of Health and Illness 14 (3): 344–72.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ehrlich, Susan, and Alice Freed
2010 “
The Function of Questions in Institutional Discourse. An Introduction”. In
Why Do You Ask? The Function of Questions in Institutional Discourse, edited by
Alice Freed and
Susan Ehrlich, 3–19. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Fetzer, Anita
2012 “
Textual Coherence as a Pragmatic Phenomenon”. In
The Cambridge Handbook of Pragmatics, edited by
Keith Allan and
Kasia M. Jaszczolt, 447–68. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Fillmore, Charles J.
2006 “
Frame Semantics”. In
Cognitive Linguistics: Basic Readings, edited by
Dirk Geeraerts, 34:373–400.
Cognitive Linguistics Research. Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Geurts, Bart
2017 “
Presupposition and Givenness”. In
The Oxford Handbook of Pragmatics, edited by
Yan Huang, 1:180–98. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Gibbs, Raymond W.
2017 “
Experimental Pragmatics”. In
The Oxford Handbook of Pragmatics, edited by
Yan Huang, 310–25. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Gobat, Nina, Paul Kinnersley, John W. Gregory, and Michael Robling
2015 “
What Is Agenda Setting in the Clinical Encounter? Consensus from Literature Review and Expert Consultation.”
Patient Education and Counseling 98 (7): 822–29.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Gyuris, Beáta
2017 “
New Perspectives on Bias in Polar Questions: A Study of Hungarian -e.”
International Review of Pragmatics 9 (1): 1–50.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Hakulinen, Auli
2009 “
Conversation Types”. In
The Pragmatics of Interaction, edited by
Sigurd D’hondt,
Jan-Ola Östman, and
Jef Verschueren, 55–65. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Hale, Chris
2011 “
A Frame by Any Other Name: Testing the Taxonomy of Interactional Sociolinguistics.”
Language Research Bulletin 26.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Hayano, Kaoru
2012 “
Question Design in Conversation”. In
The Handbook of Conversation Analysis, edited by
Jack Sidnell and
Tanya Stivers, 395–414. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Heritage, John
2011 “
The Interaction Order and Clinical Practice: Some Observations on Dysfunctions and Action Steps.”
Patient Education and Counseling 84 (3): 338–43.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Heritage, John, and Jeffrey D. Robinson
2006 “
The Structure of Patients’ Presenting Concerns: Physicians’ Opening Questions.”
Health Communication 19 (2): 89–102.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Hood-Medland, Eve Angeline, Anne E. C. White, Richard L. Kravitz, and Stephen G. Henry
2021 “
Agenda Setting and Visit Openings in Primary Care Visits Involving Patients Taking Opioids for Chronic Pain.”
BMC Family Practice 22 (4).
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ilie, Cornelia
2015 “
Questions and Questioning”. In
The International Encyclopedia of Language and Social Interaction, edited by
Karen Tracy,
Todd Sandel, and
Cornelia Ilie. Chichester, Malden: Wiley Blackwell.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Juhász, József, István Szőke, Gábor O. Nagy, and Miklós Kovalovszky
eds 1975 Magyar Értelmező Kéziszótár. 2. változatlan kiad. Budapest: Akademiai Kiadó.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kecskes, Istvan
2004 “
Editorial: Lexical Merging, Conceptual Blending, and Cultural Crossing.”
Intercultural Pragmatics 1 (1): 1–26.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kecskes, Istvan
2008 “
Dueling Contexts: A Dynamic Model of Meaning.”
Journal of Pragmatics 40 (3): 385–406.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kecskés, István
2014 Intercultural Pragmatics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kecskes, Istvan
2017 “
Cross-Cultural and Intercultural Pragmatics”. In
The Oxford Handbook of Pragmatics, edited by
Yan Huang, 400–415. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kecskes, Istvan, and Fenghui Zhang
Kecskes, Istvan, and Fenghui Zhang
2013 “
On the Dynamic Relations Between Common Ground and Presupposition”. In
Perspectives on Linguistic Pragmatics, edited by
Alessandro Capone,
Franco Lo Piparo, and
Marco Carapezza, 2:375–95.
Perspectives in Pragmatics, Philosophy & Psychology. Cham: Springer International Publishing.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kiefer, Ferenc
1980 “
Yes-No Questions as Wh-Questions”. In
Speech Act Theory and Pragmatics, edited by
John R. Searle,
Ferenc Kiefer, and
Manfred Bierwisch, 97–119. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kiefer, Ferenc
1983 “
A Kérdő Mondatok Szemantikájáról És Pragmatikájáról”. In
Tanulmányok a Mai Magyar Nyelv Szövegtana Köréből, edited by
E. Rácz and
I. Szathmári, 203–30. Budapest: Tankönyvkiadó.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Lie, Hanne C., Lene K. Juvet, Richard L. Street, Pål Gulbrandsen, Anneli V. Mellblom, Espen Andreas Brembo, Hilde Eide, et al.
2022 “
Effects of Physicians’ Information Giving on Patient Outcomes: A Systematic Review.”
Journal of General Internal Medicine 37 (3): 651–63.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Marvel, M. Kim, Ronald M. Epstein, Kristine Flowers, and Howard B. Beckman
1999 “
Soliciting the Patient’s Agenda: Have We Improved?”
JAMA 281 (3): 283–87.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Menichetti, Julia, Hanne C. Lie, Anneli V. Mellblom, Espen Andreas Brembo, Hilde Eide, Pål Gulbrandsen, Lena Heyn, et al.
2021 “
Tested Communication Strategies for Providing Information to Patients in Medical Consultations: A Scoping Review and Quality Assessment of the Literature.”
Patient Education and Counseling 104 (8): 1891–1903.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Mishler, Elliot George
1984 The Discourse of Medicine: Dialectics of Medical Interviews.
Language and Learning for Human Service Professions. Norwood, N.J.: Ablex Pub. Corp.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Nordfalk, J. M., J. Menichetti, O. Thomas, P. Gulbrandsen, and J. Gerwing
2021 “
Three Strategies When Physicians Provide Complex Information in Interactions with Patients: How to Recognize and Measure Them.”
Patient Education and Counseling, 105 (6): 1552–1560.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Robinson, Jeffrey D.
2006 “
Soliciting Patients’ Presenting Concerns”. In
Communication in Medical Care, edited by
John Heritage and
Douglas W. Maynard, 22–47. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Robinson, Jeffrey D., and John Heritage
2005 “
The Structure of Patients’ Presenting Concerns: The Completion Relevance of Current Symptoms.”
Social Science & Medicine 61 (2): 481–93.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Robinson, Jeffrey D., Alexandra Tate, and John Heritage
2016 “
Agenda-Setting Revisited: When and How Do Primary-Care Physicians Solicit Patients’ Additional Concerns?”
Patient Education and Counseling 99 (5): 718–23.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Rudy, Iris Sun, Alexandra Poulos, Laura Owen, Ashlee Batters, Kasia Kieliszek, Jessica Willox, and Hazel Jenkins
2015 “
The Correlation of Radiographic Findings and Patient Symptomatology in Cervical Degenerative Joint Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study.”
Chiropractic & Manual Therapies 23 (9).
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Schegloff, Emanuel A., and Harvey Sacks
1973 “
Opening up Closings.”
Semiotica 8 (4): 289–327.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Schirm Anita
2020 “
A diskurzusjelölők a telefonos ügyfélszolgálati beszélgetésekben.”
Beszédtudomány – Speech Science,
December, 237–58.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Sidnell, Jack
2010 Conversation Analysis: An Introduction.
Language in Society 37. Chichester, Malden: Wiley Blackwell.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Silverman, Jonathan, Suzanne M. Kurtz, and Juliet Draper
2013 Skills for Communicating with Patients. Third edition. London: Radcliffe Publishing.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Stalnaker, Robert
2002 “
Common Ground.”
Linguistics and Philosophy 25 (5/6): 701–21.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Stortenbeker, Inge, Wyke Stommel, Sandra van Dulmen, Peter Lucassen, Enny Das, and Tim olde Hartman
2020 “
Linguistic and Interactional Aspects That Characterize Consultations about Medically Unexplained Symptoms: A Systematic Review.”
Journal of Psychosomatic Research 132 (May): 109994.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Street, Richard L.
2021 “
Information Giving, Managing, and Understanding in Clinical Encounters.”
Patient Education and Counseling 104 (8): 1831–33.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Tannen, Deborah
1985 “
Frames and Schemas in Interaction.”
Quaderni Di Semantica 6 (2): 326–35.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Teas Gill, Virginia, and Felicia Roberts
2012 “
Conversation Analysis in Medicine”. In
The Handbook of Conversation Analysis, edited by
Jack Sidnell and
Tanya Stivers, 575–92. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Tsai, Mei-hui
2006 Opening Hearts and Minds: A Linguistic Framework for Analyzing Open Questions in Doctor-Patient Communication =
使君傾言 : 醫病溝通中開放式 問句之語言學分析. Taipei: Crane Publishing Co.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Tsai, Mei-hui, Feng-hwa Lu, and Richard M. Frankel
2014 “
Teaching Medical Students to Become Discourse Analysts. From Conversational Transcripts to Clinical Applications”. In
The Routledge Handbook of Language and Health Communication, edited by
Heidi Ehernberger Hamilton and
Wen-ying Sylvia Chou, 327–43. Routledge.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Udvardi, Anna
2022 Is That an Answer to the Question? Analysing the Opening Turns of Physiotherapist-Patient Interactions. PhD Dissertation.
Verschueren, Jef
1999 Understanding Pragmatics.
Understanding Language Series. London: Arnold; New York: Oxford University Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cited by (1)
Cited by 1 other publications
Thompson, Teresa L. & Wayne A. Beach
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 5 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.