Lay diagnosis in interaction
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Paul Ten Have
Paul ten Have, Ph.D., is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, University of Amsterdam. His recent publications include:
Doing conversation analysis: a practical guide (Sage Publications);Structuring Writing for Reading: Hypertext and the Reading Both (Human Studies);Computer-Mediated Chat: Ways of Finding Chat Partners (M/C–A Journal of Media and Culture).
Abstract
This article starts with a discussion of the somewhat paradoxical character of the concept of ‘lay diagnosis’, as it suggests that lay persons could fulfill such a specific professional task. It is used here as indicating any kind of verbal contributions patients could make to the diagnostic process. Within the research on doctor–patient interaction, two different trends are distinguished, one focussing on how physicians' behavior is inviting, allowing, or discouraging patients from expressing their ideas and feelings, while the other presents an overall structural view of medical encounters ‘as a genre’ in itself. The latter perspective is elaborated at some length as offering at least a partial elucidation of the findings of the first concerning the effects of physicians' conduct of the consultation. The interactional significance of ‘lay diagnostic’ contributions seem to differ according to the phase of the consultation in which they are offered. In the conclusions, some implications for future research and practice are suggested, including an extension of the research agenda to include both pre- and post-clinical lay discussions of diagnostic concerns.
About the author
Paul ten Have, Ph.D., is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, University of Amsterdam. His recent publications include: Doing conversation analysis: a practical guide (Sage Publications); Structuring Writing for Reading: Hypertext and the Reading Both (Human Studies); Computer-Mediated Chat: Ways of Finding Chat Partners (M/C–A Journal of Media and Culture).
© Walter de Gruyter
Articles in the same Issue
- Editorial
- Editorial: On demarcating the space between ‘lay expertise’ and ‘expert laity’
- Introduction: Diagnosing ‘lay diagnosis’
- Symmetry, asymmetry and ‘requests’
- Asymmetry in action: Sequential resources in the negotiation of a prescription request
- Accomplishing a request without making one: A single case analysis of a primary care visit
- Patient concerns
- Clinical care and conversational contingencies: The role of patients' self-diagnosis in medical encounters
- Missing assessments: Lay and professional orientations in medical interviews
- Further delicate moments in medical …
- Breaking the sequential mold: Answering ‘more than the question’ during comprehensive history taking
- Laughter as a patient's resource: Dealing with delicate aspects of medical interaction
- … and family interactions
- Stability and ambiguity: Managing uncertain moments when updating news about mom's cancer
- Commentaries
- Lay diagnosis in interaction
- Spotlight on the patient
Articles in the same Issue
- Editorial
- Editorial: On demarcating the space between ‘lay expertise’ and ‘expert laity’
- Introduction: Diagnosing ‘lay diagnosis’
- Symmetry, asymmetry and ‘requests’
- Asymmetry in action: Sequential resources in the negotiation of a prescription request
- Accomplishing a request without making one: A single case analysis of a primary care visit
- Patient concerns
- Clinical care and conversational contingencies: The role of patients' self-diagnosis in medical encounters
- Missing assessments: Lay and professional orientations in medical interviews
- Further delicate moments in medical …
- Breaking the sequential mold: Answering ‘more than the question’ during comprehensive history taking
- Laughter as a patient's resource: Dealing with delicate aspects of medical interaction
- … and family interactions
- Stability and ambiguity: Managing uncertain moments when updating news about mom's cancer
- Commentaries
- Lay diagnosis in interaction
- Spotlight on the patient
