ABSTRACT

In recent years, the role of interpersonal communication in the delivery of health care has been a focus of study among practitioners, educators, and researchers. We have recognized that, in spite of sophisticated technologies for diagnosis and treatment, talk between the patient and health-care provider remains the primary means by which information is exchanged and understanding achieved (Shuy, 1976). In addition, qualities of the provider—patient relationship such as trust, cooperation, and commitment to the patient's well-being, strongly impinge on outcomes of medical care such as patients' satisfaction, adherence to prescribed regimens, recovery rate, and utilization of health-care services (Becker, 1985; Ben-Sira, 1980; Speedling & Rose, 1985). These features of relationships emerge interactively as the communicators assign meaning to one another's verbal and nonverbal behaviors over the course of the encounter (DiMatteo, 1979; Pendleton, 1983).