The Language of Illness
eBook - ePub

The Language of Illness

  1. 224 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

The Language of Illness

About this book

The practice of medicine has advanced dramatically in recent years, but the language used to discuss illness – by medical practitioners, patients and carers – has not kept pace. As a result, clinicians and, just as importantly, patients and their relatives and carers, are not able to communicate clearly in relation to illness. The upshot is misunderstanding and confusion on all sides.

In this ground-breaking book, Dr Fergus Shanahan, an eminent gastroenterologist who has practised in Ireland, the United States and Canada, and published widely around the world, looks at memoirs of illness, and outlines the lessons we can learn from a better understanding of the words we use to describe illness. He looks at the ways in which language can act as a barrier with regard to illness, and proposes practical ways in which we can dismantle these barriers. The book is written for the general reader: as Dr Shanahan puts it himself, he is "enough of an expert to be wary of experts".

The Language of Illness, part manifesto, part memoir, and part instruction manual, is an appeal for the use of clearer, more holistic language, by all those involved with, and affected by, illness. Like the great American poet-doctor William Carlos Williams, he aims to help us develop a new language by means of which we can develop a new way of living with illness –which is an integral part of the human condition. Put simply, it is a book for all those who care about caring.

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Yes, you can access The Language of Illness by Fergus Shanahan in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Medicina & Psiquiatría y salud mental. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Table of contents

  1. Title Page
  2. Dedication
  3. Contents
  4. Preface
  5. 1: Introduction: When Crisis Meets Routine
  6. 2: Disease-speak and Its Distancing Effect
  7. 3: The Illness Words
  8. 4: Waiting, Uncertainty and Time
  9. 5: It’s the Way You Say It
  10. 6: No Words, Just Silent Signals
  11. 7: Healing Words, Hurting Words
  12. 8: Language Gaps and Words that Get in the Way
  13. 9: Words that Turn People into Patients
  14. 10: The Weight of a Word Caring, Dignity and Empathy
  15. 11: Language, Logic, Policy and Poor Public Health Messages
  16. 12: The Patient and the System
  17. 13: The Language of Plagues and Pandemics
  18. Epilogue
  19. Bibliography
  20. Acknowledgements
  21. Index
  22. Copyright