When Doctor–Patient Discourse Isn’t Adequate: Social Media Health Multimodal Dialogic Discourse Analysis

The adequacy and efficacy of doctor–patient communication has remained contentious. It is a fact that some patients are seen seeking reprieve from social media. Therefore, this study aimed at finding out the function, semantic and communication manifestations of Facebook Hypertension Support Groups. This study is perhaps the first linguistic oriented one to be carried out in sub-Saharan Africa and reveals an alternative health crisis communication method in sub-Saharan Africa. The research was guided by four main objectives which are: (1) To analyse the language models used in doctor–patient discourse. (2) To explain the dialogic nature of messages shared in Facebook Hypertension Support Groups. (3) To examine the function and impact of Facebook Hypertension Support Groups messages (4) To evaluate the High Blood Pressure patients’ benefits and challenges of Hypertension Support Groups’ communication. The theories underpinning this narrative qualitative research were the Multimodal Discourse Analysis and Dialogism. Data was collected through content/linguistic analysis of sampled and selected texts from Facebook Hypertension Support Groups. Interviews were also used. Purposive sampling was done in the selection of patients. The study revealed that the reciprocal emotional support characteristic of the Facebook Hypertension Support group is beneficial to the patients. More importantly, it was ascertained that the power balance between doctors and patients becomes more equalised, resulting in increased quality of clinical decisions.