Oncology healthcare professionals (HCPs) and cancer patients often have difficulties in navigating conversations about sexual changes and concerns due to cancer and its treatments. The present study draws on Discursive Psychology to analyze how the topic of sexuality is raised and managed in Dutch oncological consultations. Our corpus consists of 28 audio recordings. We analyzed the discursive practices used by cancer patients and oncology HCPs and to what effect. Patients, on the one hand, employ vagueness, pronouns, and ellipses, while HCPs attribute talk to others and use generalizations, and speech perturbations. Through these practices they collectively keep the topic of sexuality at a distance, thereby constructing it as a delicate topic. Moreover, we explicate the norms related to sexual behavior that cancer patients and oncology HCPs orient to in their talk. Finally, we address ways in which oncology HCPs can open the door on discussing sexual changes with their patients.
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Many healthcare professionals experience difficulties in discussing sexual health with their patients. The aim of this review was to synthesize results of studies on communication practices in interactions about sexual health in medical settings, to offer healthcare professionals suggestions on how to communicate about this topic. Veel zorgprofessionals ervaren problemen bij het bespreken van seksuele gezondheid met hun patiënten. Het doel van deze review was een synthese te presenteren van studies naar communicatiepraktijken in interactie over seksuele gezondheid in medische settings, om zorgprofessionals handreikingen te bieden voor communicatie over dit thema.
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Chronic pain rehabilitation programs are aimed at helping patients to increase their functioning despite being in pain, thereby improving their quality of life. However, conversations between patients and practitioners about how the patient could deal with his/her pain and pain-related disabilities in a different way can be interactionally challenging. This study adopts a discursive psychological perspective to explore how pain-related disability is negotiated by patients and practitioners during consultations. The analysis shows that pain-related disability is treated by both patients and practitioners as negotiable rather than a fixed reality. Moreover, it shows that patients’ and practitioners’ negotiations of disability are subject to issues of agency, accountability, and blame, and it provides insight into the interactional dilemmas that are at stake, both for patients and practitioners. Revalidatieprogramma’s voor patiënten met chronische pijn zijn gericht op het verbeteren van het functioneren ondanks de pijn, waardoor kwaliteit van leven wordt bevorderd. Conversaties tussen patiënten en behandelaars over de manier waarop de patiënt kan omgaan met de pijn en gerelateerde beperkingen kunnen interactionele uitdagingen met zich meebrengen. Dit hoofdstuk verkent vanuit discursief-psychologisch perspectief hoe beperkingen worden onderhandeld door patiënten en behandelaars in consulten. De analyse toont aan dat de beperkingen worden behandeld als onderhandelbaar in plaats van als een onveranderbare werkelijkheid. Bovendien toont de analyse dat in deze onderhandelingen bepaalde issues relevant worden gemaakt, zoals ‘agency’, verantwoordelijkheid en schuld. Inzicht wordt geboden in de interactionele dilemma’s die op het spel staan voor zowel patiënten als behandelaars.
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The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is a delicacy fish and an integral part of the Dutch culinary history. However, the stock of adult eel has decreased significantly due to a precipitous recruitment of glass eel fall. This relates to multiple factors including obstacles in migration pathways, loss of habitat and chemical pollution. Consequently, Anguilla anguilla has become a critically endangered species and is protected under European legislation. One possible solution, explored on laboratory scale, is the captive reproduction of eels and growth of glass eel in aquaculture. A big challenge of this technique is the limiting aspect of possible nutrients for the eels in the larval stage, as the diet must be delivered in micrometric capsules (< 20 µm) with a high protein content. Such diets are not yet available on the market. Electrohydrodynamic atomization (EHDA) is a novel option to prepare a micro-diet suitable for eel larvae. EHDA is especially interesting for its narrow size distribution capabilities and for applications which require submicrometric sizes. This project aims to evaluate the use of EHDA to produce high protein content micrometric size capsules for feeding larval eels. If successful, this would assist in the captivity production of glass eel and to make the eel culture independent of wild catches, restoring the culinary market. The project will be conducted in two phases. Firstly, tests will be conducted to evaluate the necessary conditions of the capsules using EHDA. Subsequently, the obtained capsules will be tested as feed for eel larvae. The main objective is to favour the development of a more sustainable eel culture, regarding the possibilities of investigating the current fish in natura option and exchanging it for a captivity one.
