Companion responses to treatment recommendations in Chinese outpatient clinical consultations: An observational study using conversation analysis

This conversation analytic study investigated how companions respond to clinicians’ treatment recommendations in triadic interactions in Chinese orthopedic outpatient clinical consultations. Based on recordings of triadic consultations, we showed that companions actively asserted their role in triadic treatment discussions and agentively displayed entitlement to participate in treatment discussions in and through the sequentially organized and multimodally accomplished actions of responding to clinicians’ recommendations through acceptance, passive resistance, or active resistance. Through these actions, companions exhibited and exerted agency in triadic treatment discussions, which were acknowledged and negotiated by clinicians and patients in local contexts, thus demonstrating the collaborative construction and interactional achievement of treatment decisions. The study offered valuable insights into triadic interactions in Chinese clinical encounters and contributed to the understanding of companions’ agency and contributions across healthcare contexts.