Language and Health最新文献

{"title":"Exploring pragmatic acts in Ghanaian midwives’ Facebook posts","authors":"Rachel G.A. Thompson ,&nbsp;Jemima Asabea Anderson ,&nbsp;Ebenezer Agbaglo ,&nbsp;Jerry John Ouner ,&nbsp;Julene K. Johnson","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100048","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100048","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In recent times, Ghanaian midwives are adopting social media to engage in outreach, patient education, and health and wellbeing promotion services. This study explores the pragmatic acts used by Ghanaian midwives in their educational posts targeted at pregnant women and women who have newborns (new mothers) on Facebook. Using the directed content analysis method, the study identified five types of pragmatic acts in the midwives posts. They are the introductory acts, explanatory acts, prescriptive acts, psychological acts, and closing acts. The findings show that during online maternal and child healthcare services, Ghanaian midwives mainly perform explanatory acts, prescriptive acts, and psychological acts to inform, guide, and support pregnant women and new mothers on Facebook. The use of social media for promoting maternal and child health care, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, is a relatively new phenomenon. However, it has the potential to provide immense help and support pregnant women and new mothers if used to complement in-person antenatal and postpartum care visits.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"3 1","pages":"Article 100048"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143852265","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"‘Many of our customers are discharged patients’: A linguistic study of references to healthcare users in a Finnish pharmacy magazine","authors":"Satu Johanna Siiskonen","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100054","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100054","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This linguistic study examines the usage and semantics of the Finnish lexemes <em>potilas</em> 'patient' and <em>asiakas</em> 'customer, client' in journalistic texts discussing matters relevant to the pharmacy profession. The theoretical framework of the analysis is cognitive linguistics, particularly frame semantics. The data were collected from articles published in a Finnish pharmacy magazine, <em>Apteekkari</em>, which represents the interests of proprietary pharmacists. The situational and functional semantic frames of a total of 137 occurrences of <em>potilas</em> ‘patient’ or <em>asiakas</em> ‘customer, client’ are compared. The analysis shows that the semantic frames of <em>potilas</em> ‘patient’ and <em>asiakas</em> ‘customer, client’ in <em>Apteekkari</em> are quite distinct. The magazine primarily uses the term <em>potilas</em> ‘patient’ for individuals interacting in the situational frame of a healthcare setting other than a pharmacy, or in the context of healthcare in general. However, although Finnish pharmacies also offer healthcare services, individuals interacting with pharmacies are generally referred to as <em>asiakas</em> ‘customer, client’, irrespective of their health status. <em>Asiakas</em> ‘customer, client’ is more common than <em>potilas</em> ‘patient’ in all functional frames of pharmacy services, including medical treatment and care. The terms <em>customer</em> and <em>client</em> may to some language users suggest a commercial and transactional rather than a caring relationship, and using the term <em>patient</em> in certain care-related contexts could support the recognition of pharmacists as healthcare providers. To better understand this aspect, future research should investigate perceptions of these terms among pharmacy service users and healthcare stakeholders, particularly in the context of pharmaceutical care.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"3 1","pages":"Article 100054"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144298198","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Study of English as an additional language in students with dyslexia","authors":"Maria Vilanova Cifre ,&nbsp;Lluís Barceló Coblijn","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2024.100045","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2024.100045","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines the difficulties dyslexic students encounter while learning English as a foreign language. It is not only about stating that dyslexic students have problems when learning a foreign and opaque language as English, but also about finding out where the difficulties rely on. According to some researchers, English spelling is an ‘opaque’ language that causes difficulties due to its consonant clusters and its complex syllabic structures. The main aim of this essay is to discover the difficulties Catalan speakers encounter when learning this language. Throughout this paper, there is an identification of the main characteristics of Catalan dyslexic students within English learning. This experimental proposal is aimed at analysing the effects of this reading disorder when learning a foreign language with the methodology of participants taking two tests: in English and in Catalan. Each test contains four different activities: a line rhyming exercise, choosing the right option, fill in the gap and dictation. By doing this, it seeks to demonstrate the most complicated groups of consonant clusters for dyslexic students: the ones representing more than one sound in the same letter, thus opaque clusters. Furthermore, due to this opacity, English activities were more significant in terms of results than Catalan exercises.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"3 1","pages":"Article 100045"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144098890","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A journey from darkness to dawn: Metaphoric variation in depression recovery stories posted on Chinese Wechat subscription accounts","authors":"Lin Lin ,&nbsp;Rui Zhou ,&nbsp;Jia-jia Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100046","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100046","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Despite volumes of research on depression-related conceptual metaphors and the therapeutic function of client-generated metaphors, seldom efforts have been made to unveil clients’ positive changes signified by metaphoric variation in the context of recovery. Based on depression recovery stories posted on Chinese Wechat subscription accounts, this study unpicks evolved metaphoric patterns indicative of positive changes regarding altered attitudes toward depression, social interaction and healthcare services during depressed patients’ recovery. It is found that these varying patterns can be mostly decoded based on correspondence and class inclusion metaphor types, developing from specific original source-target relations or original elements of the sources, while the rest of them can be realized by the introduction of new sources or targets for elaborating new experience and outcomes. They reflect depression survivors’ positive thinking patterns, self-empowerment and resilience, and convey their experience-licensed suggestions and encouragement to peers. Additionally, this study discusses how the Chinese socio-cultural values play a vital role in the understanding of depression-related metaphors and their variation, and provides implications for the application of metaphoric techniques in healthcare practice with socio-cultural sensitivity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"3 1","pages":"Article 100046"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143092242","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A pragmatic view on referential acts in aphasia","authors":"Roberto Graci,&nbsp;Alessandro Capone","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100050","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2025.100050","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper investigates referential acts in discourse, focusing on how individuals with aphasia use language within specific communicative contexts. We argue that reference is not merely a function of lexical or syntactic conventions, but a pragmatic act shaped by context, shared knowledge, and interactional dynamics. Through discourse analyses, we show that people with aphasia often maintain referential coherence when supported by collaborative interlocutors. In contrast to traditional assessments that rely on decontextualized testing, we advocate for assessment approaches grounded in the analysis of real communicative situations, which better capture the situated and collaboratively constructed nature of reference. By integrating contextual, perceptual, and social dimensions into assessment and intervention, we propose a shift toward more dynamic and effective models for understanding and supporting communicative abilities in aphasia.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"3 1","pages":"Article 100050"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143935035","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Neuro-linguistic programming's impact on academic performance in primary schoolchildren at risk of ADHD","authors":"Furat Taha ,&nbsp;Razan Mhanna ,&nbsp;Zeina Harakeh ,&nbsp;Sanaa Awada ,&nbsp;Roula Bou Assi ,&nbsp;Assem El-Kak ,&nbsp;Georges Hatem","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2024.100044","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2024.100044","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the effects of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) on students at risk of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), recognizing the influential role of teachers in student development. Conducted over five months in a Lebanese private school, the cohort study involved 130 students (mean age: 8.7 years) spanning grades 1–5. Utilizing the NICHQ Vanderbilt Assessment Scale, teachers' pre- and post-intervention assessments, with sociodemographic data from caregivers, were collected. Significant improvements in inattentive and hyperactive symptoms post-NLP were noted, with ADHD percentages dropping to zero. Oppositional/conduct and anxiety/depression risks also decreased. Academic performance, particularly in written expression, showed notable improvement (18–9.1 %; p = 0.05). Teachers reported substantial advancements in high-risk ADHD children following NLP interventions, highlighting the importance of teacher-student relationships, motivation, confidence, and collaborative parent-teacher efforts in creating conducive learning environments. NLP can be used as an effective tool in addressing cognitive challenges and promoting positive behavioral changes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"3 1","pages":"Article 100044"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143092241","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Profiles of public attitude change regarding stuttering","authors":"Kenneth O. St. Louis ,&nbsp;Fauzia Abdalla ,&nbsp;Salman Abdi ,&nbsp;Elizabeth (Fisher) Aliveto ,&nbsp;Ann Beste-Guldborg ,&nbsp;Agata Błachnio ,&nbsp;Benjamin Bolton-Grant ,&nbsp;Sarah Eisert ,&nbsp;Timothy Flynn ,&nbsp;Sheryl Gottwald ,&nbsp;Jessica Hartley ,&nbsp;Daniel Hudock ,&nbsp;Kia N. Johnson ,&nbsp;Lejla Junuzović-Žunić ,&nbsp;Aneta Przepiórka ,&nbsp;M. Pushpavathi ,&nbsp;Isabella Reichel ,&nbsp;Hossein Rezai ,&nbsp;Chelsea (Kuhn) Roche ,&nbsp;Sara Spears ,&nbsp;Katarzyna Węsierska","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2024.08.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2024.08.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Purpose</h3><div>A growing number of studies have sought to reduce negative public attitudes toward stuttering in pre-test/post-test designs using the <em>Public Opinion Survey of Human Attributes–Stuttering</em> (<em>POSHA–S</em>). Most investigations have succeeded in improving attitudes, but about one-third of them have not. A previous companion study showed that intervention—but not demographic—characteristics of samples partly predicted success.</div></div><div><h3>Method</h3><div>Authors investigated individual profiles and predictors of change in nonstuttering individuals’ attitudes from pre-test to post-test after exposure to interventions or no intervention. Using pre- versus post-<em>POSHA–S</em> mean ratings from different samples (representing 7 countries and 6 languages) 29 samples comprising 934 respondents were categorized into four categories of intervention success from “unsuccessful” to “very successful.” These were compared to 12 pre and post non-intervention samples containing 345 respondents from a second companion study. Within categories, the individual respondents were sorted according to positive, minimal, or negative changes from pre- to post-tests on the <em>POSHA–S</em> Overall Stuttering Score (OSS). The non-intervention category served as a baseline for determining the effects of interventions on respondents who improved, worsened, or remained the same.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>As in the previous non-intervention category, within all intervention categories, an unexpected and heretofore undocumented “crossover” effect emerged. Respondents with the least positive pre attitudes improved greatly, and respondents with the most positive attitudes worsened greatly. Those with intermediate attitudes changed minimally. The percentage of respondents changing positively differentiated levels of success in the intervention categories, while the magnitude of mean change did not. Potential predictors in positive and negative changers were not apparent from <em>POSHA–S</em> demographic and attitude variables.</div></div><div><h3>Implications</h3><div>Future interventions to improve stuttering attitudes should address their relatively unstable nature and be targeted differentially to positive, minimal, and negative changers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"2 2","pages":"Article 100027"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142698594","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Translating informed consent in Scottish maternity services: perspectives from providers and researchers of both maternity care and translation/interpreting services.","authors":"Jenny Patterson ,&nbsp;Şebnem Susam-Saraeva","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2024.06.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2024.06.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Failing to meet the communication and information needs of childbearing women leaves them unable to provide true informed consent. Lack of control or lack of involvement in decision making contribute to birth trauma. For those with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) receiving information requires use of interpreters often hindered within pressurised maternity services and urgent situations. Women with LEP are often of ethnicities at risk of poorer maternity outcomes and from cultures where maternity service practices differ from Scottish maternity services.</div></div><div><h3>Question</h3><div>How do maternity care professionals (MCPs) and translation &amp; interpreting (T&amp;I) providers experience their role around informed consent when caring for women with LEP in Scotland; what do they identify as barriers or facilitators?</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Data were collected using qualitative methodology through online focus groups and interactive workshops including a mix of MCPs and T&amp;I providers. Recruitment used a snowball approach via word of mouth and email. Focus groups were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim, workshops were audio-visually recorded and closely examined. Data were analysed using Framework analysis.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Four themes emerged from the study: 1) Limited resources; 2) Inter-professional concerns; 3) Cultural heritage; and 4) Power.</div></div><div><h3>Discussion</h3><div>Limited resources affect women, MCPs and interpreting services. A lack of cultural awareness and power differentials create pressure for everyone within the process.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>LEP increases complexity around informed consent. Challenges are multifaceted compounded by lack of time and resources alongside power differentials. Trust, respect and continuity are key facilitators.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"2 2","pages":"Article 100023"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142722375","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"What do(n’t) hospital patients like about using professional interpreting services?","authors":"Jim Hlavac ,&nbsp;Emiliano Zucchi ,&nbsp;Yue Hu","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2024.10.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2024.10.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Interpreting services in healthcare facilities are essential for patients with limited proficiency in the societally dominant language to communicate effectively with healthcare professionals. Patients can report symptoms more easily and healthcare professionals can diagnose conditions and outline treatment options more readily. Aside from resolving the issue of linguistic discordance, it is possible that patients see the presence of the interpreter as achieving other things as well. A study of 464 overt responses from 1120 patients from 16 different language backgrounds in Melbourne shows that positive impressions (n=353) of interacting with an interpreter outnumber negative (n=111) ones. Over half of the positive feedback related to patients being able to fully understand and participate in medical consultations. Other positive outcomes included relieving family members of having to mediate, obviation of the risk associated with attempting to use English, and the belief that interpreters ensure information accuracy. Of those with negative experiences, 45 % cite waiting time and availability issues, 24 % a perceived lack of professionalism or linguistic ability. Feedback encompasses not only linguistic features and accuracy of the interpreter's output, but also what interpreters ‘achieve’ for them in the healthcare professional-patient interaction and beyond it, i.e. changes that are of a situational, intra-familial or socio-psychological nature.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"2 2","pages":"Article 100032"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142655616","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"What drives task performance in fluency tasks in people who had COVID-19?","authors":"Adrià Rofes ,&nbsp;Marta Almeria ,&nbsp;Barbara Sampedro ,&nbsp;Roel Jonkers ,&nbsp;Joan Deus ,&nbsp;Jerzy Krupinski","doi":"10.1016/j.laheal.2024.10.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.laheal.2024.10.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Some people who had COVID-19 have been shown to perform below a normative sample on fluency tasks. Unveiling the factors driving performance in this population can explain their underlying impairments. In this article we assess (1) whether people who had COVID-19 are impaired in animal or letter fluency relative to a normative sample; and (2) whether performance (total correct word count) can be explained by demographic factors, common COVID-19 symptoms, number of switches, mean cluster size, and word properties of fluency tasks.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Eighty-four Spanish-speaking people who had COVID-19 responded to an animal and a letter fluency task, 10–35 days after hospital discharge or self-quarantining. We obtained demographic, common symptom/factors, and calculated number of switches, mean cluster size and eight word properties for each correct word. A comparison of correct words with a normative sample was used to address Aim 1, and Random forests/Conditional inference trees for Aim 2. The last method is not affected by multicollinearity.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>People who had COVID-19 were not impaired in fluency tasks compared to normative data collected before the pandemic. Number of switches predicted total number of correct words in both fluency tasks. In addition, frequency, age of acquisition, and familiarity predicted animal fluency scores; and concreteness predicted letter fluency scores. No other measure showed as important.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Number of switches and word properties predicted the performance in fluency tasks of people who had COVID-19. Concreteness was not expected to predict letter fluency and may indicate a specific linguistic pattern in people who had COVID-19.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100865,"journal":{"name":"Language and Health","volume":"2 2","pages":"Article 100031"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142655682","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}