Discourses of Inclusive and Exclusionary Health Communication

As the first of two companion volumes, this book provides a comprehensive collection of applied linguistics studies on health inclusivity, showcasing empirical research and methodological insights on different languages such as British Sign Language, Chinese, Danish, English, German, Japanese and Spanish.

The volume presents studies on health inclusivity based on first-hand patient experiences and explores the representation of health and illness across scientific, institutional, and media discourses. It features a wide range of linguistic methodologies and frameworks such as qualitative discourse studies, corpus-based discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, public involvement, narrative analysis, and metaphor analysis, as applied to a variety of contexts and communities. Integrating examples of projects and campaigns that promote inclusive healthcare, the chapters discuss potential practical implications and offers recommendations for applications to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI).

This is an essential resource for academics working in linguistics and discourse studies applied to healthcare, as well as students seeking deeper insights into how health communication, sociology, and health and social care workers can inform institutional practices and shape policy discussions and broaden social perspectives of health inclusivity across a global scale.