Call for Papers: Discourse of Medicine in Africa

Current research on medical discourse has been dominated by linguistic, sociological, and anthropological perspectives, often excluding the voices of medical practitioners. This has resulted in a limited understanding of communication in medical settings based primarily on the underrepresentation of clinicians and their first-hand experiences and minimal impact on actual medical practice. Given these challenges, and the absence of a comprehensive work on clinical discourse specific to Africa, this groundbreaking volume seeks to address the need for an interdisciplinary approach to the complexities of African health communication. It incorporates insights from linguists, medical practitioners, and scholars of medical practice.
We invite researchers, scholars and practitioners in medical communication studies, rhetoric of health and medicine, medical humanities, English for Healthcare, linguistics, discourse analysis, pragmatics, sociology, medical practice and cultural studies to submit chapters that will highlight interdisciplinary approaches to medical and health communication and bridge the gap between academic approach(es) to medical discourse and clinical perspectives on medical communication in African contexts.

We welcome contributions that explore the various dimensions of hospital communication across Africa, with emphasis on how linguistic/or and clinical perspectives can be integrated to improve understanding and practice. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
• Doctor-patient communication and interaction patterns in African healthcare settings.
• Multilingualism in clinical encounters.
• The role of non-verbal communication in medical settings.
• Cross-cultural communication in African hospitals.
• Discourse analysis of specific clinical settings (e.g., emergency rooms, surgery, physiotherapy)./
• Communication between medical professionals: inter-professional collaboration, consultations, and teamwork.
• Health communication and its role in patient compliance and outcomes.
• Indigenous and local communication strategies in medical practice.
• The impact of social factors (such as age, gender, ethnicity) on hospital communication.
• Communicative challenges in dealing with specific diseases and conditions prevalent in Africa.
• The role of interpreters in multilingual health settings.
• Ethical issues in medical communication.
• Communication in the era of telemedicine and digital health in Africa.
• The influence of African cultural values and beliefs on clinical discourse.
Interested contributors are invited to kindly submit abstracts of no more than 300 words, clearly outlining the research focus, methodology, and anticipated contributions to the volume. Submissions, also including the author’s name, institutional affiliation and contact information should be sent to [email protected] with the subject line “Discourse of Medicine in Africa – Abstract Submission.”

Deadline: December 30, 2024

This is a 2- year project and we hope the book should be released by the Summer of 2026.

Editors
Akinola Odebunmi, University of Ibadan
Nana Aba-Appiah Amfo, University of Ghana
Jemima Asabea Anderson, University of Ghana
Eniola Boluwaduro, Radboud University
Folarin Malomo, University of Ibadan
Ikeoluwapo Ajayi, University of Ibadan

Linguistic Field(s): Applied Linguistics
Clinical Linguistics
Discourse Analysis
Pragmatics
Sociolinguistics

Subject Language(s): English (eng)