We compiled data from nonparticipant observations of clinician-patient communication in clinical ... more We compiled data from nonparticipant observations of clinician-patient communication in clinical interactions in a tertiary care eye hospital in India. Applying elements of the French philosopher Michel Foucault's concept of power and knowledge, we deconstructed the structuring and moderating influences on the expert/nonexpert dyad. We found that clinicians enforce their "disciplining power" through varying degrees of communicativeness to bring about compliance in the patient. Clinicians appear to classify the patient as "participant" or "deviant" based on the patient's "internalization" of instructions, and then communicate in predictable ways with the patient. Patients can also wield power, communicating it by understanding and following or not understanding and not clarifying/verifying instructions in the clinic, and thereafter failing to comply with the clinician's advice. We suggest that clinicians need to hone their communication skills both to optimally utilize interactions in the clinic and to encourage patient compliance, thereby making possible better treatment outcomes.
The fear of being envied makes people act prosocially, in an attempt to ward off the potentially ... more The fear of being envied makes people act prosocially, in an attempt to ward off the potentially destructive effects of envy. In three experiments, people who were in a superior position and could be envied were more likely than control participants to give time-consuming advice to a potentially envious person or to help a potentially envious person pick up erasers she had accidentally scattered. However, helping behavior increased only if envy was likely to be malicious rather than benign. People who were better off did not increase their helping behavior toward people in general, but increased their helping only toward the potentially envious. This finding is consistent with the idea that the better off act more prosocially as an appeasement strategy. The fear of being envied serves useful group functions, because it triggers prosocial behavior that is likely to dampen the potentially destructive effects of envy and simultaneously helps to improve the situation of people who are w...
a tertiary eye care centre in southern India to gain an insight into patient understanding and sa... more a tertiary eye care centre in southern India to gain an insight into patient understanding and satisfaction from clinician communication. Non-participant observations enabled us to map the sequence of communication opportunities in the clinical interaction, and in-depth interviews were used to identify patient perceptions of the content and clarity of clinician communication in a clinic for patients of glaucoma, a chronic eye disease. A 60item instrument was administered to 550 participants in the quantitative phase to explore associations between patient expectations, experience and ratings of clinician communication and satisfaction with it. The qualitative results helped map the clinical interaction, highlighting the consequences of poor clinician communication. The quantitative phase showed that patients expected explanations about the disease, the opportunity to ask questions, receiving supportive signals, and being treated as equals.
We compiled data from nonparticipant observations of clinician-patient communication in clinical ... more We compiled data from nonparticipant observations of clinician-patient communication in clinical interactions in a tertiary care eye hospital in India. Applying elements of the French philosopher Michel Foucault's concept of power and knowledge, we deconstructed the structuring and moderating influences on the expert/nonexpert dyad. We found that clinicians enforce their "disciplining power" through varying degrees of communicativeness to bring about compliance in the patient. Clinicians appear to classify the patient as "participant" or "deviant" based on the patient's "internalization" of instructions, and then communicate in predictable ways with the patient. Patients can also wield power, communicating it by understanding and following or not understanding and not clarifying/verifying instructions in the clinic, and thereafter failing to comply with the clinician's advice. We suggest that clinicians need to hone their communication skills both to optimally utilize interactions in the clinic and to encourage patient compliance, thereby making possible better treatment outcomes.
The fear of being envied makes people act prosocially, in an attempt to ward off the potentially ... more The fear of being envied makes people act prosocially, in an attempt to ward off the potentially destructive effects of envy. In three experiments, people who were in a superior position and could be envied were more likely than control participants to give time-consuming advice to a potentially envious person or to help a potentially envious person pick up erasers she had accidentally scattered. However, helping behavior increased only if envy was likely to be malicious rather than benign. People who were better off did not increase their helping behavior toward people in general, but increased their helping only toward the potentially envious. This finding is consistent with the idea that the better off act more prosocially as an appeasement strategy. The fear of being envied serves useful group functions, because it triggers prosocial behavior that is likely to dampen the potentially destructive effects of envy and simultaneously helps to improve the situation of people who are w...
a tertiary eye care centre in southern India to gain an insight into patient understanding and sa... more a tertiary eye care centre in southern India to gain an insight into patient understanding and satisfaction from clinician communication. Non-participant observations enabled us to map the sequence of communication opportunities in the clinical interaction, and in-depth interviews were used to identify patient perceptions of the content and clarity of clinician communication in a clinic for patients of glaucoma, a chronic eye disease. A 60item instrument was administered to 550 participants in the quantitative phase to explore associations between patient expectations, experience and ratings of clinician communication and satisfaction with it. The qualitative results helped map the clinical interaction, highlighting the consequences of poor clinician communication. The quantitative phase showed that patients expected explanations about the disease, the opportunity to ask questions, receiving supportive signals, and being treated as equals.
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