Heritage2006d
| Heritage2006d | |
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| BibType | ARTICLE |
| Key | Heritage2006d |
| Author(s) | John Heritage, Jeffrey D. Robinson |
| Title | The structure of patients' presenting concerns: physicians' opening questions |
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| Tag(s) | EMCA, Medical EMCA, Doctor-patient interaction, Opening Questions, Problem Presentation, Conversation Analysis |
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| Year | 2006 |
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| Journal | Health Communication |
| Volume | 19 |
| Number | 2 |
| Pages | 89–102 |
| URL | Link |
| DOI | 10.1207/s15327027hc1902_1 |
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Abstract
This article uses conversation analysis to develop a typology of questions that physicians use to solicit patients' problems and then tests question–format effects on patients' subsequent problem presentations. Data are videotapes of 302 primary-, acute-, and outpatient-care visits involving 77 physicians in 41 urban and rural clinics, as well as pre- and postvisit questionnaires. The most frequent question formats were general inquiries (62%; e.g., "What can I do for you today?") and requests for confirmation (27%; e.g., "I understand you're having some sinus problems today?"). Compared to confirmatory questions, general inquiries were associated with significantly longer problem presentations (p <. 0001) that included more discrete symptoms (p <. 0001). Physicians were more likely to use confirmatory questions in the urban setting (p =. 003).
Notes
