Intervening With Conversation Analysis: The Case of Medicine

Abstract

In this article, we discuss the notion of a ‘conversation analytic intervention,’ focusing on the role of conversation analysis in the major stages of intervention research, epitomized by the randomized controlled trial, the gold standard for intervention in the medical sciences. These stages embrace development, feasibility and piloting, evaluation, and implementation. We describe how conversation analytic methods are used as part of the first two stages and how a conversation analytic skill base and sensibility must be deployed in managing the last two stages. Through a review of practical requirements for successful, externally-funded intervention research, we provide suggestions for how to maximize the potential for basic, conversation analytic research to eventuate in intervention. Data are in American English.

Notes

¹ When projects are commissioned by outside agencies, decisions regarding focal practices are sometimes strongly influenced by agency needs/interests, such as how to deal with requests for services that the agency does not currently offer (Hepburn, Wilkinson, & Butler, 2014/this issue), and other times less so, such as the design of new communication tools (Luff, Patel, Kuzuoka, & Heath, 2014/this issue).

² Although these feasibility considerations have been discussed in terms of contexts of physician–patient interaction (another example of which is found in Jenkins & Reuber, 2014/this issue), they are applicable to many other environments in which there are a variety of practitioner specialties, subspecialties, levels of training, reasons for interacting, etc., such as speech and language therapy (Wilkinson, 2014/this issue), government employment service interviews (Drew, Toerien, Irvine, & Sainsbury, 2014/this issue), and telephone helplines (Hepburn et al., 2014/this issue).