Voices of lifeworld and medicine dynamic (VoLiMeD)

Developers: Yvan Leanza

Year of publication: 2003

Date last updated: 21 October 2019

Setting in which the tool was originally developed/validated: Pediatrics

Restriction to setting(s): None

Target group: All

Language(s): French

Translations(s): English

Specific constructs/behaviours:

Implicit discourse content (voices) and (absence of) meaning coconstruction

The Voice of Lifeworld (VoL) and the Voice of Medicine (VoM). A voice is пthe realization in speech of underlying normative ordersН (Mishler, 1984). The VoL is the contextual understanding of health issues. It is opposed to the Voice of Medicine (VoM), the technical, decontextualized scientific assumptions of medicine. Looking at the dynamic between the two in a medical consultation enables to see if and how meaning can be generated out of the communication.

Tool topics:

Intended application: Education, Research

Reference(s) to development/validation paper(s):

1. Leanza, Y. (2004). P_diatres, parents migrants et interprЏtes communautaires : un dialogue de sourds ? Cahiers de lНinstitut lausannois des sciences du langage [Num_ro sp_cial], 16, 131-158.

2. Leanza, Y., Boivin, I., & Rosenberg, E. (2010). Interruptions and resistance: a comparison of medical consultations with family and trained interpreters. Social Science & Medicine, 70(12), 1888-1895. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.02.036

3. Leanza, Y., Boivin, I. & Rosenberg, E. (2013). The patientsН Lifeworld: Building meaningful clinical encounters between patients, physicians and interpreters. Communication and Medicine 10(1), 13-25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/cam.v10i1.13

• Leanza et al. (2010)
• Leanza et al. (2013)

Tool/manual available: Yes.

Tool description by the author:

This tool helps understand what happens to the Voice of Lifeworld when expressed. Is it ignored, blocked, rationalized, recognized, is it merged with the Voice of Medicine to build some new meanings. The description obtained can help researchers and probably educators and trainees. No specific training is required, but a good understanding of Habermas Lifeworld and System concepts (as interpreted by Mishler for example) is necessary.

Contact: Yvan Leanza