Abstract
The aim of this paper was to report on communication problems in connection with meals in a geriatric ward and to connect these to Goffmans' “dramaturgical approach” for social interaction within institutions. The research approach was ethnographic. Eighteen newly admitted, mentally orientated patients and their primary enrolled nurses were allocated. In the arrival interview and during the meal-situations, the representative of the nursing staff was responsible for the dialogue, and the patient took a subordinate role.
The patients' utterances were adapted to their own conception of expected common behaviour and they strove to maintain their human dignity. The elderly patients and the nursing staff represented different cultures, with conflicting expectations as to the content of the meal-time communication. These attitudes led to a lack of information about the problems patients experienced.
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