The power of language on patient‐centredness: linguistic devices in the dietetic notes of patient records

Abstract

In this paper, 30 notes written by Swedish dietitians in patient records are analysed, inspired by Critical Linguistics and Critical Discourse Analysis. Focusing on linguistic devices such as agency sources and evidential markers, we describe how patients are constantly referred to only in terms of the institutional patient role, or not referred to at all, through different techniques such as nominalization and passive verbs. The dietitians writing the notes are even more absent from the text, as they almost never refer to themselves as persons in the dietetic notes. There is a stated ambition in health care to provide patient-centred care and a collaborative patient-clinician relationship. However, we suggest that there might be a need for more person-centred language in dietetics.I denna artikel har 30 journalanteckningstexter från svenska dietister analyserats med en metod inspirerad av kritisk lingvistik och kritisk diskursanalys. Genom att fokusera på språkliga mönster, som val av aktörer eller vilka anföringsverb som används, visar vi hur patienten konsekvent endast refereras till i sin institutionella roll som patient, eller inte refereras till över huvud taget. Detta sker via olika tekniker som nominalisering och passivisering. Dietisterna som skrivit journalanteckningarna är ännu mer frånvarande i texterna, då de i stort sett aldrig refererar till sig själva som personer i journalanteckningarna. Det finns en uttalad ambition inom hälso-och sjukvården att tillhandahålla patientcentrerad vård med en samverkande relation mellan patient och kliniker. Vi ser dock att kan finnas behov av ett mer personcentrerat språk inom dietetikens dokumentation.Nyckelord: Patientjournal, dietistanteckningar, patientcentrerad vård, hälso-och sjukvårdsdiskurs, medicinsk diskurs bs_bs_banner

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