Chapter 16. How uncertainty can be turned into shared understanding
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Ming-Yu Tseng
Abstract
This chapter investigates how uncertainty is communicated in highly-rated medical answers. Particular attention is paid to the discourse elements that may render the use of vague language to be more positively than negatively received during the delivery of helpful answers to health information seekers in online medical consultations (OMCs). We argue that uncertainty does not equate to an evasive answer; instead, uncertainty can be turned into shared understanding with the use of effective strategies. Data in Chinese were collected from a government-funded website based in Taiwan. The findings suggest that vague language can facilitate the successful delivery of health information when it is used in conjunction with higher-order stretching of a medical reply, aimed at offering a patient-centered medical answer.
Abstract
This chapter investigates how uncertainty is communicated in highly-rated medical answers. Particular attention is paid to the discourse elements that may render the use of vague language to be more positively than negatively received during the delivery of helpful answers to health information seekers in online medical consultations (OMCs). We argue that uncertainty does not equate to an evasive answer; instead, uncertainty can be turned into shared understanding with the use of effective strategies. Data in Chinese were collected from a government-funded website based in Taiwan. The findings suggest that vague language can facilitate the successful delivery of health information when it is used in conjunction with higher-order stretching of a medical reply, aimed at offering a patient-centered medical answer.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction. Fostering interdisciplinary knowledge translation at the interface between healthcare communication and pragmatics 1
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Section 1. Analytical approaches to health communication
- Chapter 1. Methodological insights for the study of communication in health 16
- Chapter 2. Microanalysis of Clinical Interaction (MCI) 43
- Chapter 3. Public disagreements among health experts and their polarizing effects during a pandemic health crisis 75
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Section 2. Intercultural and mediated communication
- Chapter 4. Face-to-face intercultural communication and mediated intercultural communication as related to health communication 106
- Chapter 5. On managing dyadic sequences in triadic clinician-patient-interpreter interaction 124
- Chapter 6. Pursuing understanding or engaging the patient? 144
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Section 3. Negotiation and meaning construction
- Chapter 7. Negotiation and joint construction of meaning (or why health providers need philosophy of communication) 172
- Chapter 8. Metapragmatics and reflections in support of knowledge transfer and common ground in doctor-patient interaction 200
- Chapter 9. The pediatrician’s normalizing practice in well-child visits 227
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Section 4. Expertise and common ground
- Chapter 10. Establishing common ground to achieve therapeutic goals 252
- Chapter 11. Whose common ground? 263
- Chapter 12. Peer experts as actors for shared understanding in Spanish online health fora 291
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Section 5. Uncertainty and evasive answers
- Chapter 13. Uncertainty in healthcare 314
- Chapter 14. The pragmatics of diagnostic uncertainty 330
- Chapter 15. On indicating and dealing with uncertainty in healthcare dialogues 359
- Chapter 16. How uncertainty can be turned into shared understanding 373
- Index 395
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction. Fostering interdisciplinary knowledge translation at the interface between healthcare communication and pragmatics 1
-
Section 1. Analytical approaches to health communication
- Chapter 1. Methodological insights for the study of communication in health 16
- Chapter 2. Microanalysis of Clinical Interaction (MCI) 43
- Chapter 3. Public disagreements among health experts and their polarizing effects during a pandemic health crisis 75
-
Section 2. Intercultural and mediated communication
- Chapter 4. Face-to-face intercultural communication and mediated intercultural communication as related to health communication 106
- Chapter 5. On managing dyadic sequences in triadic clinician-patient-interpreter interaction 124
- Chapter 6. Pursuing understanding or engaging the patient? 144
-
Section 3. Negotiation and meaning construction
- Chapter 7. Negotiation and joint construction of meaning (or why health providers need philosophy of communication) 172
- Chapter 8. Metapragmatics and reflections in support of knowledge transfer and common ground in doctor-patient interaction 200
- Chapter 9. The pediatrician’s normalizing practice in well-child visits 227
-
Section 4. Expertise and common ground
- Chapter 10. Establishing common ground to achieve therapeutic goals 252
- Chapter 11. Whose common ground? 263
- Chapter 12. Peer experts as actors for shared understanding in Spanish online health fora 291
-
Section 5. Uncertainty and evasive answers
- Chapter 13. Uncertainty in healthcare 314
- Chapter 14. The pragmatics of diagnostic uncertainty 330
- Chapter 15. On indicating and dealing with uncertainty in healthcare dialogues 359
- Chapter 16. How uncertainty can be turned into shared understanding 373
- Index 395
