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Building bridges through biography: engaging patients through lifeworld narratives in the clinical encounter

Rachel A Chamberlin

Abstract


The doctor-patient relationship is the foundation of biomedical practice, yet this relationship has significantly changed overtime evolving to frequently exclude the lifeworlds of patients. This article outlines some of the reasons lifeworlds have become largely excluded from the clinical encounter, the effects this omission has on health promotion and patient satisfaction and offers Anthroposophic Medicine as an illustrative example of a different way to contextualize and manage power using patient lifeworld narratives in clinical care.


Keywords


Anthroposophic Medicine, asymmetry, biomedical physicians, clinical consultation, communication skills, doctor-patient relationship, lifeworlds, patient-centered care, patient engagement, patient narratives, person-centered healthcare, shared decision-mak

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5750/ejpch.v5i4.1310

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