Problems of communication in evidence‐based medicine

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Sachs, Lisbeth

Affiliations: Department of Communication Studies, University of Linköping, Sweden, Skaraborg Institute, Skövde, Sweden

Note: [] Address for correspondence: Dr. L. Sachs, Sjötullsbacken 23, SE‐115 25 Stockholm, Sweden. E‐mail: Lisbeth.Sachs@Swednet.se.

Abstract: From the humanistic perspective of the social sciences, the most complex task in evidence‐based medicine lies in the communication of specialized medical knowledge to non‐professionals. Information is never simply the neutral transmission of facts, even when dealing with scientific knowledge and research. It is always interpreted and evaluated from a particular perspective in a specific context. That information can be neutral is thus a myth. In all medical consultations the process of communication is not just a matter of transmitting information from one who knows to one who does not. Knowledge created and disseminated in a scientific context is thus recontextualised, first in a clinical situation and then as an interpreted version in people's real lives. Furthermore there are difficulties when practice must be based on current research, in a situation in which no prior clinical experience exists and in which results are interpreted and used regardless of the degree of certainty provided by current evidence.

Journal: International Journal of Risk and Safety in Medicine, vol. 14, no. 3-4, pp. 107-114, 2001