Event Details

Lancaster University China Centre PhD seminar with Jiawei Chen of University of Nottingham Ningbo, China

Shared decision-making (SDM) has been widely recognised as an ideal model for medical decision-making. In the interactional process of negotiating SDM, the construction and negotiation of the doctor–patient relationship play a crucial role (Baldt & Slunecko, 2023; Matthias et al., 2020). The most influential SDM models are primarily developed in the Western medicine context (e.g., Charles et al., 1997, 1999). Currently, little is known about how SDM is negotiated in the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) context. TCM is inherently relationship-oriented in its theorisation and practices (Jin & Tay, 2018), which can contribute fresh perspectives and empirical evidence to the development of SDM theories. The data of this study comprises audio recordings of authentic doctor–patient interactions in the TCM context and in-depth interviews with participants. Audio recordings of doctor–patient interactions were collected by the doctors with the informed consent of their patients. Both doctors and patients can decide whether to share the recordings with the researchers and which recordings they are willing to share. Drawing on an analytical framework that integrates epistemic and deontic authority (Heritage, 2012; Stevanovic & Perakyla , 2012), politeness theories (Brown & Levinson, 1987; Locher & Watts, 2005), and conversation analysis (Sacks, 1992), this study investigates how doctors and patients manage their relationships in the process of negotiating SDM. The preliminary analysis shows that doctors deploy various relational strategies, such as humour, small talk, expressing sympathy, and establishing common ground through identity construction, to achieve a transactional goal, that is, making shared treatment decisions with patients. This study contributes to research on doctor–patient SDM by offering a culturally grounded description and explanation of how SDM in the TCM context is negotiated through interactions. The findings of this study will inform the understanding of equitable and participatory doctor–patient interactions worldwide.

Speaker bio: Jiawei Chen is a PhD candidate on a fully funded scholarship at the School of Education and English, University of Nottingham Ningbo China. His research lies at the intersection of applied linguistics and health communication, focusing on how shared decision-making is negotiated through interaction in Chinese healthcare contexts. His broader research interests include workplace and media discourse.