The collective voice: Legitimation strategies in focus group discussions with nurses in municipal palliative care for older people in Sweden

Authors

  • Henrik Rahm Lund University
  • Magdalena Andersson City Office, Malmö
  • Anna-Karin Edberg Kristianstad University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/cam.v11i2.20116

Keywords:

addressivity, dialogicity, discourse analysis, legitimation, nurses, the Other, palliative care

Abstract

This paper explores focus group discussions of registered nurses in municipal palliative care for older people, using data collected by researchers with an interest in health sciences. The linguistically based discourse analyis builds on a combination of Bakhtinian notions of dialogicity, the Other and addressivity, the use of quotations, and also van Leeuwen’s framework for legitimation in discourse. The aim is to investigate strategies of addressing and legitimizing palliative care. Three types of narrative are discerned: the cautionary tale, fictionalization of professional experiences and the enactment of a fictive dialogue. The other professions involved (physicians, assistant nurses) are positioned as the Other as a means of legitimizing the perspectives of the registered nurses. As the patients and their next of kin are the objects of professional activities, the notion of the Third (connecting to the Other) is proposed. The objectification is a manifestation of commitment with routinized and professional distance to the patients.

Author Biographies

  • Henrik Rahm, Lund University
    Henrik Rahm is Associate Professor in Scandinavian Languages at Lund University. His research interests include discourse analysis, genre analysis and plain language, with publications on media, advertisements, GMO discourse and plain language.
  • Magdalena Andersson, City Office, Malmö
    Magdalena Andersson, PhD, is a registered nurse and works at the City in Malmö as a coordinator in research and development with focus on health care, especially among the elderly in palliative care which also includes next of kins’ situation. She is associated with Malmö University and Lund University.
  • Anna-Karin Edberg, Kristianstad University
    Anna-Karin Edberg, PhD, is a registered nurse and Professor in Nursing at Kristianstad University, Sweden. She is also the Director of Research at the Research Platform for Collaboration for Health, Kristianstad University. Her research area mainly concerns care for older people, with an emphasis on frail older people and palliative care.

Published

2015-08-17

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Rahm, H., Andersson, M., & Edberg, A.-K. (2015). The collective voice: Legitimation strategies in focus group discussions with nurses in municipal palliative care for older people in Sweden. Communication and Medicine, 11(2), 167-177. https://doi.org/10.1558/cam.v11i2.20116

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