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Using root metaphors to analyze communication between nurses and patients: a qualitative study.
Isabel Álvarez1,2, Laia Selva3, José Luis Medina4
1Philosophy and Science of Education, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. Isabel.alvarez@uab.cat.
Healthcare communication relies on shared metaphors. This study found nurses and patients use different root metaphors (worldviews) when discussing chronic illness management, impacting understanding.
Area of Science:
- Communication Studies
- Health Psychology
- Philosophy of Science
Background:
- Metaphors are crucial for conveying worldviews and experiences in healthcare.
- Shared understanding of patient-used metaphors aids health professionals in meeting patient needs.
- Root metaphors (formism, mechanism, contextualism, organicism) offer explanatory functions and shape interpretation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze nurse-patient communication through the lens of root metaphors.
- To identify and discuss the root metaphors employed by healthcare professionals and patients.
Main Methods:
- A six-month case study in Spain involving 32 patients with chronic illnesses.
- Analysis of recorded and transcribed nurse-patient interviews.
- Inductive extraction of five key health categories: blood sugar, cholesterol, exercise, blood pressure, and diet.
Main Results:
- Nurses predominantly used mechanism and formism worldviews.
- Patients favored mechanism for blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure discussions.
- Patients utilized contextualism more frequently for diet and exercise-related topics.
Conclusions:
- Pepper's root metaphors effectively analyze nurse-patient communication dynamics.
- Discrepancies in root metaphor usage between nurses and patients were observed, particularly concerning diet and exercise.
- Further research is recommended to validate these findings in both qualitative and quantitative studies.
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