Heath1986

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Heath1986
BibType BOOK
Key Heath1986
Author(s) Christian Heath
Title Body Movement and Speech in Medical Interaction
Editor(s)
Tag(s) EMCA, Medical consultations, Body movement, Multimodality
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Year 1986
Language English
City Cambridge, U.K.
Month
Journal
Volume
Number
Pages 216 pp.
URL Link
DOI
ISBN 9780521031769
Organization
Institution
School
Type
Edition
Series
Howpublished
Book title
Chapter

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Abstract

This book is based on a substantial collection of video recordings of everyday medical consultations in the UK, and offers a micro-analysis of the visual and vocal aspects of the interaction between doctors and patients. Using actual examples, accompanied by numerous illustrations, Christian Heath explores the moment-by-moment coordination of body movement and speech by and between doctor and patient. He discusses various aspects of medical examination, leave-taking, and the ways in which the participants sustain each other's attention. He also raises certain practical issues of medical work, such as the use of records and computers during the consultation, and the impact of 'bureaucratic' demands on the flow of information between doctor and patient. The book reveals the delicacy and precision which enter into the articulation and synchrony of visual behaviour and speech, and throws light on the systematics - the social organization - underlying the seeming minutiae of everyday life. In this way, it contributes both to our understanding of doctor-patient communication, and to the growing body of research on face-to-face interaction.

Notes