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Most studies in the area of doctor-patient communication focus on the talk that doctors perform during the consultation, leaving under-researched the discourse developed by patients. This article deconstructs and identifies the functions and forms of the voices (i.e. specific forms of talk) that Chilean patients employ in their interactions with general practitioners. Patients use four different voices in the interaction: "Health-related Storytelling", "Competence", "Social Communicator" and "Initiator". "Health-related Storytelling" and "Competence" are the "voices" most frequently used by both female and male patients and constitute the object of analysis and interpretation for this study. The use of these voices reflects the patients' role in the Western medical institutions, knowledge about health issues, social identity and aspiration to better understand health problems. I conclude that medical communicative practices that favour the development of patients' discourse can improve patients' knowledge of medical issues which in turn may have a positive impact on patients' health. (Contains 4 notes.)

Investigated the influence of gender on certain linguistic strategies that promote camaraderie, specifically in the discourse of Chilean Spanish speakers. Gender was not found to play a completely determining role, although male and female strategy preferences were exhibited. (Author/VWL)

The article discusses research which evaluated whether the Polluter-Pays Principle (PPP) is applied in Chile's Sistema de Evaluación de Impacto Ambiental (Environmental Impact Assessment System or SEIA). Topics covered include a literature review on the PPP and public interest regulation, the role that the PPP plays in the Chilean SEIA, and case studies to show how a regulatory arrangement can lead to a regulatory failure.

It is well known in the field that culture and context play an important role in child rearing and parenting practices. However, many studies do not address the cultural dimension of attachment, although evidence indicates that aspects of early attachment differ across cultures. With the goal of comparing the quality of mother-baby interactions, this study analyzed attachment behaviors and maternal sensitivity in two settings: urban/ non-Mapuche and rural/ Mapuche in Chile. The sample was composed of 34 mother-baby dyads (17 urban/ non-Mapuche and 17 rural/ Mapuche) with 12-month-old children. During a feeding episode, the attachment style of the interaction was assessed with the Attachment during Stress scale, and maternal sensitivity was evaluated with the Child-Adult Relationship Experimental Index-Toddlers (CARE-Index). The groups differed in their interaction attachment style and in affective and proximity modalities: Urban/ non-Mapuche mothers tended to have secure and ambivalent attachment styles, and rural/ Mapuche mothers tended to have avoidant styles. When educational level is controlled, ethnicity group can explain the differences in mothers' attachment styles. The findings of the study and their implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This manuscript studies in detail, following a discourse analytical approach, medical consultations in which a patient's religious belief does not allow blood transfusion to be administered. The patient is a young Jehovah's Witness suffering myeloid leukaemia who is being treated in a Catholic cancer hospital where the practice of blood transfusion forms part of the standard protocol to treat the disease. The consultations under analysis take place in a Chilean cancer clinic where mainly the oncologist and a Jehovah's Witness Representative (JWR) present discuss and negotiate expert information on the substitute methods to be used. The exchange dynamics of the consultations differ from the usual visits where the medical knowledge and expertise is primarily in the hands of the medical practitioner. In these encounters, the JWR shares vital information with the oncologist providing the basis of the treatment to be used. This shifting of the balance of power-which could have been a cause of tension in the visit and a contributing factor in the disruption of communication-has instead brought light to the encounter where the negotiated treatment has been achieved with relative ease. The patient's future is in the hands of the oncologist and the JWR, and their successful negotiation of treatment has made it possible to cater for the particular needs of a JW patient. Sharing different medical practices has not been an obstacle, but an opportunity to find out ways to deliver equity access and well-informed practices to a non-conventional patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]