Att vara kommunikativt låst – professionellas berättande om (vanskliga) vårdrelationer

Abstract

Trapped in communication – professionals’ testimonies about communicative breakdowns in healthcare worker–patient interactions

The aim of the article is to shed light on the social dynamic that characterizes communicative breakdowns. As a first stage, this has been explored through individual and group interviews with 34 healthcare professionals about situations where they claim there has been a communication breakdown. Based on the professionals’ testimonies, the research question was: how do professionals illustrate their experiences of communicative breakdowns? In terms of theory, the study draws upon an integrated approach to language and social interaction dynamics – for example how actors mediate positions and roles, but also present, negotiate and determine the course of action in patient cases. Findings show: (1) different degrees of severity in communicative breakdowns, and (2) that the professionals have developed and use both explicit and implicit strategies to handle ”delicate relationships” in this kind of interactions.