CONTEXT TYPES IN NIGERIAN PAEDIATRIC CONSULTATIONS: AN INTERACTIONAL SOCIOLINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Communication in medical encounters is shaped by the contexts in which interactions occur. This study examines the contextual configurations that structure paediatric consultations in Nigerian clinical settings. Drawing on data from 20 recorded consultations across selected hospitals in Ondo and Lagos States, the study adopts Interactional Sociolinguistics as the theoretical framework. The analysis identifies institutional and social contexts as dominant organising frameworks, realised through features such as agency and hierarchy, communality, politics and governance, and religion, which shape participant roles, interactional behaviour, and meaning-making processes. The findings reveal that paediatric consultations are deeply embedded in institutional structures that regulate participation and interaction, while still allowing for dynamic negotiation among participants. The study contributes to research on medical discourse by foregrounding context as a primary determinant of interaction in paediatric healthcare settings.