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Participation of Companions in Video-Mediated Medical Consultations: A Microanalysis

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Analysing Digital Interaction

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Discursive Psychology ((PSDP))

Abstract

This chapter presents a microanalysis of video-mediated interaction in the specific institutional setting of post-operative consultations. The analysis focuses on the patients’ intimates, who were present at, and sometimes contributed to, the consultation. We examined the participation of companions in 13 video-consultations. In most cases, the companion served as a facilitating bystander, invisible for the physician and thus maintaining the physician-patient dyad as the dominant framework for the interaction. We found that companions were rarely invited to talk unless they appeared on-screen and were noticed by the physician. Self-initiated turns by companion consisted of crosstalk with the patient, while companions also directly addressed the physician with relevant information. Physicians, in response, ratified companions, but rarely actively invited them to participate. Overall, companions’ on-screen appearance seemed crucial for their participation, which suggests that the role of companions in video-consultations is fundamentally different from how they participate in face-to-face consultations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Language Studies, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Wyke J. P. Stommel

  2. Department of Surgery, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Martijn W. J. Stommel

Authors
  1. Wyke J. P. Stommel
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  2. Martijn W. J. Stommel
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Correspondence to Wyke J. P. Stommel .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, UK

    Joanne Meredith

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Winchester, Winchester, UK

    David Giles

  3. Center for Language Studies, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Gelderland, The Netherlands

    Wyke Stommel

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Stommel, W.J.P., Stommel, M.W.J. (2021). Participation of Companions in Video-Mediated Medical Consultations: A Microanalysis. In: Meredith, J., Giles, D., Stommel, W. (eds) Analysing Digital Interaction. Palgrave Studies in Discursive Psychology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64922-7_9

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