Survey on hand gestures relevance in patient practitioner communication: a homeopathic example

Max Escher; Arndt Büssing; Thomas Ostermann

doi:10.1016/j.homp.2016.02.005

Homeopathy, Inhaltsverzeichnis

Homeopathy 2016; 105(03): 233-239
DOI: 10.1016/j.homp.2016.02.005

Original Paper

Survey on hand gestures relevance in patient practitioner communication: a homeopathic example

Max Escher

¹Institute for Integrative Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University, Gerhard-Kienle-Weg 4, 58313 Herdecke, Germany

,

Arndt Büssing

¹Institute for Integrative Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University, Gerhard-Kienle-Weg 4, 58313 Herdecke, Germany

,

Thomas Ostermann

¹Institute for Integrative Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University, Gerhard-Kienle-Weg 4, 58313 Herdecke, Germany

²Department of Clinical Psychology, Witten/Herdecke University, Alfred-Herrhausen-Str. 50, 58448 Witten, Germany

› Institutsangaben

Abstract

Background: Gestures play an important role in medical communication.

Methods: 94 homeopaths (Mean age 49.6 years, 20% male) completed a 20-item questionnaire on utilization and relevance of gestures in patients’ symptom description.

Results: After excluding nine items due to low validity (n = 4) or low item total correlation (n = 5), factor analysis of the questionnaire resulted in the following three dimensions explaining 66.6% of variance: ‘Hand gestures in relation to verbal expressions’ (5 items; Cronbach’s α = 0.81), ‘Hand Gestures describing the experience of bodily and mental symptoms’ (4 items; Cronbach’s α = 0.74) and ‘practitioners’ behavior and active attitude in observing hand gestures’ (2 items; Cronbach’s α = 0.86).

Conclusion: The survey shows how homeopathic therapists view patients’ hand gestures, whether they use these diagnostically and how this relates to their homeopathic practice. Practitioners with only homeopathic influence on this topic are highly congruent to findings on hand gestures from other domains.

Keywords

Hand gestures - Patient–practitioner communication - Survey

Volltext

Referenzen

References
1 Thompson E.A., Geraghty J. The vital sensation of the minerals: reducing uncertainty in homeopathic prescribing. Homeopathy 96 (02) 2007; 102-107.
2 Sankaran R. The evolution of my practice. Homoeopath Links 20 (01) 2007; 11-14.
3 Holling A. Beitrag zur Diskussion des Bamberger Beschlusses 2008 bezüglich der Rolle der Arzneimittelprüfung. Grundsatzdiskussion über die neuen Methoden von Scholten und Sankaran. AHZ 255 (01) 2010; 24-27.
4 Sankaran R. The sensation in homeopathy. Homeopathy Pract 2005; 57.
5 Sankaran R. Sensation refined. 2007. Homoeopathic Medical Publishers; 432.
6 Chauhan D. Internal focusing – to explore the vital sensation. Homoeopath Links 19 (01) 2006; 17-21.
7 Chauhan D. “Locked in a cage” – a case of Lac leoninum. Homoeopath Links 20 (04) 2007; 187-192.
8 Joshi S., Joshi B. Case of discombobulation. Homoeopath Links 22 (01) 2009; 38-43.
9 Oak P.A. Importance of hand gestures – a case of cactus grandiflora. Homoeopath Links 21 (04) 2008; 192-194.
10 Rowe T. Nature vs. nurture in homeopathy: toward an environmental view of homeopathic space. Homoeopath Links 20 (04) 2007; 196-200.
11 Vithoulkas G. British media attacks on homeopathy: are they justified?. Homeopathy 97 (02) 2008; 103-106.
12 Roter D., Frankel R., Hall J., Sluyter D. The expression of emotion through nonverbal behavior in medical visits. J Gen Intern Med 21 (01) 2006; S28-S34.
13 Escher M., Ostermann T. Spontaneous co-speech hand gestures in patients’ complaint presentation and pain description. A systematic review. ECIM 2011. Berlin.
14 Heath C. Demonstrative suffering: the gestural (re) embodiment of symptoms. J Commun 52 (03) 2002; 597-616.
15 Hyden L., Peolsson M. Pain gestures: the orchestration of speech and body gestures. Health 6 (03) 2002; 325.
16 Vaysse J. La sémiotique des gestes centrés sur le corps et leurs implications langagières dans le site médical. Semiotica 91 (04) 1992; 319-340.
17 Vaysse J. La gestualité en consultation cardiologique. Cosnier J., Grosjean M., Lacoste M. Soins et communication, approches interactionnistes des relations de soins. 1993. Presse Universitaire de Lyon; Lyon: 99-120.
18 Vaysse J. Les Rôles Spécifiques De La Gestualité Et Ses Implications Psycho-Corporelles En Clinique. 2005.
19 Rowbotham S., Holler J., Lloyd D., Wearden A. How do we communicate about pain? A systematic analysis of the semantic contribution of co-speech gestures in pain-focused conversations. J Nonverbal Behav 36 (01) 2012; 1-21.
20 Heath C., Nicholls K. Body movement and speech in medical interaction. 1986. Cambridge University Press; Cambridge.:
21 Sator M. Irgendwie schwierig das zu differenzieren! Schmerzdifferenzierung – Eine gesprächsanalytische Untersuchung ärztlicher Erstgespräche an der Kopfschmerzambulanz. 2009. Wien.
22 Shah N. Fallaufnahme und Analyse. AHZ 249 2004; 125-133.
23 Streeck U. Gestik und die therapeutische Beziehung. 2009. Vol. 1 W. Kohlhammer Verlag; Stuttgart: 91.
24 Stukenbrock A. “Wo ist der Hauptschmerz?” – Zeigen am eigenen Körper in der medizinischen Kommunikation. Gesprächsforschung 9 2008; 1-33.
25 Beach W., LeBaron C. Body disclosures: attending to personal problems and reported sexual abuse during a medical encounter. J Commun 52 (03) 2002; 617-639.
26 Fleisch G. Right in their hands: how gestures imply the body’s next steps. Focus Connect (04) 2007; 24.
27 Hanada R., Furuyama N., Inoue M. Speech-gesture mismatch and how it changes in a problem described by a client. 3rd Conference of the International Society for Gesture Studies (ISGS) 2007.
28 Petitmengin C., Navarro V., Le Van Quyen M. Anticipating seizure: pre-reflective experience at the center of neuro-phenomenology. Conscious Cognit 16 (03) 2007; 746-764.
29 McNeill D. Gesture and thought. 2005. University of Chicago Press.;
30 Gostynski E. A clinical contribution to the analysis of gestures. Int J Psychoanal 32 1951; 310-318.
31 Streeck J., Grothues J., Villanueva J. Thinking by hand, in Gesturecraft: the manu-facture of meaning. 2009. John Benjamins Publishing Company; 151-177.
32 Vervarcke A. The coherent pattern. Homoeopath Links 22 (04) 2009; 180,183.
33 Albarran J., Durham B., Chappel G., Dwight J., Gowers J. Are manual gestures, verbal descriptors and pain radiation as reported by patients reliable indicators of myocardial infarction? Preliminary findings and implications. Intensive Crit Care Nurs 16 (02) 2000; 98-110.
34 Gillies M. Great balls of fire. Homoeopath Links 21 (01) 2008; 16-20.
35 Sneevliet A. Euphorbiaceae–“little words” and hand gestures. Homoeopath Links 25 (04) 2012; 225-228.
36 Heudorf U., Carstens A., Exner M. Heilpraktiker und öffentliches Gesundheitswesen. Bundesgesundheitsblatt – Gesundheitsforsch – Gesundheitsschutz 53 (02) 2010; 245-257.
37 Hearnshaw H. Comparison of requirements of research ethics committees in 11 European countries for a non-invasive interventional study. BMJ 328 7432 2004; 140-141.
38 Rowbotham S, Holler J, Lloyd D, Wearden A. The semantic interplay of speech and co-speech gestures during pain communication. In: 4th Conference of the International Society for Gesture Studies ISGS, 2010. European University Viadrina Frankfurt/Oder. p. 347.
39 Edmondstone W.M. Cardiac chest pain: does body language help the diagnosis?. BMJ 311 7021 1995; 1660-1661.
40 Martin W.B. The patient’s use of gestures in the diagnosis of coronary insufficiency disease. Minn Med 40 (10) 1957; 691-737.
41 Stowers M., Short D. Warning symptoms before major myocardial infarction. Br Med J 32 (06) 1970; 833.
42 Peterson P. An investigation of sex differences in regard to nonverbal body gestures. Eakins B., Eakins G., Lieb-Brilhard B. Siscom ’75: women’s (and men’s) communication. 1976; 20-27.
43 Briton N.J., Hall J.A. Beliefs about female and male nonverbal communication. Sex Roles 32 (12) 1995; 79-90.
44 Rowbotham S., Holler J., Lloyd D., Wearden A. Handling pain: the semantic interplay of speech and co-speech hand gestures in the description of pain sensations. Speech Commun 57 2014; 244-256.
45 Gerwing J., Dalby A.M.L. Gestures convey content: an exploration of the semantic functions of physicians’ gestures. Patient Educ Couns 96 (03) 2014; 308-314.
46 Robinson J.D. Getting down to business talk, gaze, and body orientation during openings of doctor-patient consultations. Hum Commun Res 25 (01) 1998; 97-123.