What does this research mean for the field?

Epistemic adverbs function as key linguistic markers of uncertainty in health consultations, and while health practitioners use accommodative strategies to respond, these interactions do not always ensure that patients' uncertainty is fully resolved or understood. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

Investigate how uncertainty is conveyed through epistemic adverbs and managed via communication accommodation strategies in language-concordant and language-discordant clinical encounters.

September 15, 2026Health ExpectationsOpen Access

How Uncertainty Is Talked About in Language Discordant and Concordant Health Consultations: Patterns of Epistemic Adverb Use and Communication Accommodation Strategies

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Authors

VNVanda Nissen RMRenata Meuter MRMichelle Riedlinger

Discussion

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Overview

Observational study identifies frequent uncertainty adverbs and adaptive communication strategies in emergency consultations, suggesting unresolved comprehension gaps in bilingual patients.

Key Points

Investigate how uncertainty is conveyed through epistemic adverbs and managed via communication accommodation strategies in language-concordant and language-discordant clinical encounters.
Recorded and transcribed 53 emergency department consultations involving bilingual and monolingual patients and health practitioners.
Identified and classified epistemic adverbs across 39 consultations containing uncertainty markers.
Analyzed the surrounding interactional sequences using Communication Accommodation Theory framework categories.
Consultations demonstrated greater overall use of uncertainty adverbs compared to certainty adverbs regarding symptoms, timing, and clinical actions.
Health practitioners applied accommodation strategies across five core dimensions—approximation, discourse management, interpersonal control, emotional expression, and interpretability—using clarification, reformulation, backchannelling, and reassurance.
Interactional sequences did not consistently confirm whether expressed uncertainties were fully resolved or understood by bilingual patients.

Cite This Study

Nissen et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6aa913909013453be30a199a https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.70873

View Full Paper

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September 15, 2026Health ExpectationsOpen Access

How Uncertainty Is Talked About in Language Discordant and Concordant Health Consultations: Patterns of Epistemic Adverb Use and Communication Accommodation Strategies

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Authors

VNVanda Nissen RMRenata Meuter MRMichelle Riedlinger

Discussion

Member takes

Overview

Observational study identifies frequent uncertainty adverbs and adaptive communication strategies in emergency consultations, suggesting unresolved comprehension gaps in bilingual patients.

Key Points

Investigate how uncertainty is conveyed through epistemic adverbs and managed via communication accommodation strategies in language-concordant and language-discordant clinical encounters.
Recorded and transcribed 53 emergency department consultations involving bilingual and monolingual patients and health practitioners.
Identified and classified epistemic adverbs across 39 consultations containing uncertainty markers.
Analyzed the surrounding interactional sequences using Communication Accommodation Theory framework categories.
Consultations demonstrated greater overall use of uncertainty adverbs compared to certainty adverbs regarding symptoms, timing, and clinical actions.
Health practitioners applied accommodation strategies across five core dimensions—approximation, discourse management, interpersonal control, emotional expression, and interpretability—using clarification, reformulation, backchannelling, and reassurance.
Interactional sequences did not consistently confirm whether expressed uncertainties were fully resolved or understood by bilingual patients.

Cite This Study

Nissen et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6aa913909013453be30a199a https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.70873

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark