WORD USE AND LANGUAGE STYLE MATCHING IN PATIENT-DOCTOR COMMUNICATION IN ONCOLOGY: PRESENT AND FUTURE

Patient-doctor communication is a central process in healthcare. It is related to various beneficial effects, as patient satisfaction with consultation and the implementation of a shared decision-making process. It has specific characteristics in the oncological context, and in new online-related contexts. Due to its importance, patient-doctor communication has been widely studied, with the majority of these studies focused on broad themes and content of the communication process. Less studied are the more-granular characteristics, as word use and verbal mimicry. With the diffusion of computerized text analysis methods, a growing literature is showing that the words people use daily have various relationships with psychological variables, while verbal mimicry, established between two people talking or writing to each other, is related to various relationship outcomes. LIWC, a computerized text analysis program, allows the analysis of word use and verbal mimicry, through LSM measure. This thesis work had the aim to analyze patient-doctor communication in its granular components. I aimed to analyze word use and LSM, established in the dyad patient- physician and in association with patient satisfaction with the consultation, in an online Italian, oncological setting. Moreover, the second aim was to lay the foundations to explore these constructs, and the shared decision-making process, in a real, face-to-face, Italian oncological setting. First, I started focusing on a more general context (Study 1). I analyzed the characteristics of word use and LSM in patient-healthcare professional communication in an English language “Ask-the-Expert” website. In this context, patients (i.e., users) can post a question that will be answered by a healthcare professional. I found different patterns of words used by patient and healthcare professionals, and medical doctors. Moreover, I found healthcare professionals’ and websites’ characteristics related to LSM. After these initial insights, I moved on a preparatory step, translating into Italian language the function word categories of the LIWC 2015 English Dictionary, and developing the Italian Function Words Dictionary (Study 2a). This instrument allowed to calculate LSM with Italian samples. I implemented it in a case study (Study 2b). Then, in Study 3, I analyzed word use, LSM, and the relationship between LSM and patient satisfaction with the consultation in an Italian, oncological “Ask-the-Expert” websites. I found specific patterns of word use in patients and oncologists, and an association between LSM, established between patients and oncologists, and patient satisfaction with the consultation. In Study 4, a general population study focused on a dyadic collaborative negotiation task. I found that LSM, established during this task, had a relationship with the perception of a shared decision-making process happened during the task, but only for some participants. These results laid the foundations to develop a study assessing these constructs – use of words, LSM, patient satisfaction with the consultation and shared decision-making process – in patient-doctor communication happening in real, oncological consultations. Moreover, these results are initial insights on these themes, that can have potential practical implication and shed new light on patient-doctor communication process.