Research Projects

Communication in family planning consultations

Summary

Communication in family planning consultations: Comparing the experiences clients and medical practitioners

The aims of this project are fourfold:

• To describe and analyse the language and communication strategies used by medical practitioners and clients within consultations at the Ashfield clinic of FPNSW
• To examine these consultations in terms of differing demographics and the cultural and linguistic styles, beliefs and attitudes of both clients and medical practitioners
• Through follow-up interviews analyse the congruence or disparity between the spoken messages conveyed and received by both medical practitioners and clients
• To pilot an innovative approach to professional development for medical practitioners, utilising video recordings to aid practitioner learning and service improvement.

Additionally, the research will be utilised as a pilot study for the development of an ARC Linkage submission which will involve a number of Family Planning Australia sites and other services addressing sexual and reproductive health.

This study will use a qualitative and ethnographic approach (Creswell 2007, Silverman, 2005, 2006) combined with discourse analysis (Fairclough 2003, Halliday 1994) and a study of non verbal communication (Madonik 2001), to investigate health care interactions in a Family Planning clinic at Ashfield, Sydney. By combining these methodological approaches it will be possible to analyse how talk is organised and developed around reproductive and sexual health care practices and how language, culture and other ethnographic factors impact on communication. Most importantly, the research methods and research process will provide a range of perspectives on the development and experience of communication between medical practitioners and clients.
 
Contact phone     (02) 8752 4350
Contact email     research@fpnsw.org.au