Healthy Reasoning: The Role of Effective Argumentation for Enhancing Elderly Patients' Self-management Abilities in Chronic Care

One of the biggest challenges for doctors working in chronic care is the\r\ncorrect management of the argumentation phases during the encounters with their\r\npatients. During these phases doctors should provide patients with acceptable\r\nreasons for being adherent to treatment and for changing certain unhealthy\r\nbehaviors and lifestyles, something which is particularly difficult for elderly patients, for whom changing life long habits can be extremely hard. However, the medical literature on the subject of communication in the chronic care encounter shows lack of theoretical models and methodological approaches that can highlight which specific linguistic structures or elements in different communication styles favor or impede patient commitment, trust in the relationship and adherence to treatment. The contribution describes ongoing\r\nresearch on argumentative strategies in the encounter with diabetes patients. I\r\ndescribe one recently concluded research project on the argumentation phases of medical encounters in diabetes care, which highlighted critical areas in need of improvement. I also describe the design and aims of a new research project, aimed at testing the effectiveness and usability of certain argumentation schemes in the\r\nmedical encounter.