Control of Understanding in a Task Involving Medical Assistance Given by Telephone

Abstract

This paper addresses the control of understanding in a task involving medical assistance given by phone. This situation was described and analyzed in two previous papers with different goals. Here we focus on activity carried out by the operator in charge of emergency calls (injuries, suicides, medical problems,…) in which the operator must control data given by the caller. We assume that the quality of data in the very first message (by the caller) influences the nature of control (by the operator). Methodology for assessing quality of information and type of control is presented. Nature of control is categorized by “validation” or “checking.” Quality of information is assessed by an “informational rate” and some actual verbal exchanges illustrate this point. Findings show that control in the course of dialogues is determined by the quality of information sent by the caller initially.