Critical language and discourse study: their transformative relevance for critical nursing inquiry

Area of Science:

• Nursing Research
• Sociology
• Linguistics

Background:

• Societal discourses construct notions of human health and illness.
• Existing nursing inquiry can be advanced by pragmatic language views and critical discourse studies.
• Social determinants of health, including racism, heterosexism, and classism, are embedded in language and discourse.

Purpose of the Study:

• To advocate for critical language inquiry in nursing research.
• To challenge nurse researchers to reframe how research questions are posed.
• To explore the utility of critical discourse analysis in understanding health, power, and society.

Main Methods:

• Adoption of a pragmatic view of language.
• Application of critical study of discourse.
• Utilizing critical discourse analysis as a methodology.

Main Results:

• Critical language inquiry broadens knowledge on language, discourse, health, and societal interconnections.
• Critical discourse analysis is useful for exploring health, discourse, power, and societal relationships.
• This approach facilitates the study of social injustices within healthcare contexts.

Conclusions:

• Critical language inquiry and discourse analysis are valuable for advancing nursing research.
• These approaches enable a deeper understanding of how societal factors influence health outcomes.
• Nurse researchers are encouraged to integrate critical perspectives into their methodologies.