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Access Type
WSU Access
Date of Award
January 2021
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Department
Communication
First Advisor
Loraleigh Keashly
Abstract
Communication between emergency nurses (EN) and their patients and ENs and other healthcare workers have implications for patient outcomes. Additionally, people with stigmatized identities tend to visit emergency departments (ED) at high rates. The ways people who belong to stigmatized groups are communicated with and about within the ED also has consequences for their care, satisfaction with their care, and other health outcomes. The current study sought to better understand ENs’ frontstage and backstage interactions in the ED in general, as well as how stigma communication occurs in ENs’ interpersonal interactions within the ED.Data were gathered through participant observation in a metropolitan ED in the Midwest. Participant observation began November 29th, 2019 and ended on January 13th, 2020. I shadowed 16 ENs for at least one shift, for a total of 47 hours and 30 minutes. Five ENs were shadowed two or more times. Jotted notes were handwritten during site visits and expanded on within 24-26 hours to produce 98.5 single-spaced pages of field notes. Field notes were analyzed using the iterative approach in QDA Miner Qualitative Analysis software. Findings revealed differences in the types of communication that took place in ENs’ interactions in frontstage and backstage spaces within the ED. Further, stigma messages, reactions, and effects were observed in the ways ENs communicated with their patients, other ENs, and other healthcare workers. Overall, key findings about ENs’ frontstage and backstage communication in the ED suggest (1) frontstage EN-patient interactions focused on information transferring, (2) backstage interactions in the ED support extant research and add nuance to our previous understanding of how informal information is shared in healthcare interactions, and (3) findings extend theorizing about frontstage and backstage communication in healthcare by organizing frontstage and backstage interactions into primary frameworks as conceptualized by Goffman (1974), and suggesting ENs may break frame on occasion interacting with patients. Key findings related to stigma communication support the presence of stigmatization within the ED as well as affective and behavioral stigma message reactions. Implications for health communication practice and theorizing are discussed. Findings revealed differences in the types of communication that took place in ENs’ interactions in frontstage and backstage spaces within the ED. Further, stigma messages, reactions, and effects were observed in the ways ENs communicated with their patients, other ENs, and other healthcare workers. Overall, key findings about ENs’ frontstage and backstage communication in the ED suggest (1) frontstage EN-patient interactions focused on information transferring, (2) backstage interactions in the ED support extant research and add nuance to our previous understanding of how informal information is shared in healthcare interactions, and (3) findings extend theorizing about frontstage and backstage communication in healthcare by suggesting a new type of interaction conceptualized as frontstage-backstage crossover. Key findings related to stigma communication support the presence of stigmatization within the ED as well as affective and behavioral stigma message reactions. Implications for health communication practice and theorizing are discussed.
Recommended Citation
O'shay, Sydney, "Communication And Stigmatization In The Clinical Front And Back Stage Of Emergency Nursing" (2021). Wayne State University Dissertations. 3450.
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/3450