Written Communication Oct 2016

Toward Audience Involvement

Lee-Ann Kastman Breuch University of Minnesota ; Abigail Bakke Minnesota State University, Mankato ; Kimberly Thomas-Pollei University of Minnesota ; L. Elizabeth Mackey University of Minnesota ; Craig Weinert University of Minnesota

Abstract

This article explores rhetorical implications of extending the audience of written physician notes in hospital settings to include patients and/or family members (the OpenNotes program). Interviews of participating hospital patients and family members (n = 16) underscored the need for more complex understandings of audience beyond “universal” and “particular” explanations. Interviews were organized around the aspects of comprehension, affect/emotion, and likes/dislikes about receiving notes. Results from these interviews indicated that participants understood the notes overall but had questions about abbreviations and technical terms. Many participants felt reassured about the care they were receiving, and many liked having the notes as a reference and springboard for further discussion with health care staff. A more detailed content analysis of the interview data yielded themes of document use, readability, involvement, and physician care. Findings from this study reveal an expansion of audience in this case to include both universal and particular audiences. Also, findings point to the possibility of audience involvement among patients and family members through activities such as asking questions about the physician notes. This study has implications for other forms of written communication that may extend readership in novel ways.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
2016-10-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088316668517
Open Access
Closed
Topics
affect and writing

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (9)

  1. Acharya (2025)
    Decolonizing mHealth Technology for User Empowerment and Persuasion in the Glob…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Madson (2024)
    Cannabis Risk Communication: A Scoping Review with a Research Agenda
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Campeau (2023)
    Who’s a Vaccine Skeptic? Framing Vaccine Hesitancy in Post-Covid News Coverage
    Written Communication
  4. Tham (2022)
    Book Review: <i>Content Strategy in Technical Communication</i> by Giuseppe, G.…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Kessler et al. (2021)
    User Experience in Health &amp; Medicine: Building Methods for Patient Experien…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Show all 9 →
  1. Campeau (2019)
    Rethinking Person-Centeredness: Contestations of Disability, Care, and Culture …
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Gallagher (2018)
    Considering the Comments: Theorizing Online Audiences as Emergent Processes
    Computers and Composition
  3. Kenzie et al. (2018)
    Teaching Writing for the Health Professions: Disciplinary Intersections and Ped…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Sterponi et al. (2017)
    Endangered Literacies? Affordances of Paper-Based Literacy in Medical Practice …
    Written Communication

Cites in this index (8)

  1. Gallagher (2015)
    Five Strategies Internet Writers Use to “Continue the Conversation”
    Written Communication
  2. Angeli (2015)
    Three Types of Memory in Emergency Medical Services Communication
    Written Communication
  3. Scott et al. (2013)
    The Rhetorics of Health and Medicine: Inventional Possibilities for Scholarship…
    Poroi
  4. Owens (2009)
    Confronting Rhetorical Disability
    Written Communication
  5. Schryer et al. (2009)
    The Trial of the Expert Witness
    Written Communication
Show all 8 →
  1. Stone (1997)
    In Search of Patient Agency in the Rhetoric of Diabetes Care
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Johnson (1997)
    Audience involved: Toward a participatory model of writing
    Computers and Composition
  3. Segal (1994)
    Patient compliance, the rhetoric of rhetoric, and the rhetoric of persuasion
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Also cites 17 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.1353/par.0.0007
     ↗
  2. 10.1525/9780520353237
     ↗
  3. 10.1093/oso/9780195166750.001.0001
     ↗
  4. Delbanco T., Walker J., Bell S. K., Darer J. D., Elmore J. G., Farag N. Leveille S. G. (2012). Inviting patie…
     ↗
  5. 10.2307/358093
     ↗
  6. Feldman H. J., Walker J., Li J., Delbanco T. (2013). OpenNotes: Hospitalists’ challenge and opportunity. Jour…
     ↗
  7. 10.1017/CBO9780511841057.008
     ↗
  8. 10.2196/jmir.3363
     ↗
  9. 10.1080/08838151.2012.705195
     ↗
  10. 10.1080/00461520.2010.493470
     ↗
  11. 10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.09.050
     ↗
  12. 10.1017/CBO9781139174299.006
     ↗
  13. 10.2307/461344
     ↗
  14. 10.1207/s15327027hc0204_2
     ↗
  15. 10.1109/47.946462
     ↗
  16. 10.1017/CBO9781316181645
     ↗
  17. 10.1177/1062860615610424
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 13 View in citation network →

Related Articles

  1. Written Communication Feb 2026
    Rhetoric and Affect: The Role of Faith in Student Writers’ Wayfinding ↗
    Amy D. Williams; Jonathan Ostenson
    empirical research affect and writing
  2. Literacy in Composition Studies Feb 2026
    The Schooling of Gestural Listening ↗
    Feibush, Laura
    multimodality disability studies place and space affect and writing
  3. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jan 2026
    Advantages and Challenges of Creating User Documentation in Agile Development Contexts: A Qualitative Interview Study ↗
    Marjorie Rush Hovde; Brea Threatt
    qualitative research technical communication affect and writing
  4. Pedagogy Jan 2026
    “Not a Detour from Rigor” ↗
    Krysten Stein; Kishonna Gray
    multimodality multilingual writers affect and writing
  5. Praxis: A Writing Center Journal 2026
    Introverts Achieving Confidence in the Writing Center: A Guide for Consultants ↗
    writing centers affect and writing