Expressing and negotiating face in community pharmacist-patient interactions.

Area of Science:

• Communication Studies
• Social Psychology
• Pharmacy Practice

Background:

• Effective pharmacist-patient communication is crucial for patient satisfaction and medication adherence.
• Communication involves managing task-oriented goals and underlying social 'face' needs (autonomy, competence, fellowship).
• Face-work Theory offers a framework to analyze these complex interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate face needs, threats, and communication strategies in community pharmacy settings.
• To apply Face-work Theory to understand pharmacist-patient interactions.

Main Methods:

• An exploratory descriptive study analyzing 25 audio-recorded community pharmacist-patient interactions.
• Behavioral observations interpreted through the lens of Face-work Theory.

Main Results:

• Both pharmacists and patients exhibited multiple face needs (autonomy, competence, fellowship) during interactions.
• Competence needs were most prominent when negotiating role expectations.
• Solidarity-based strategies supported face, while indirect questions mitigated face threats.

Conclusions:

• Face-work Theory provides a novel framework for understanding pharmacist-patient interactions.
• Analyzing speech acts in relation to face needs and threats can illuminate how interactions achieve both task and interpersonal goals.