Relational Aspects in Patient-provider Interactions: A Facial Paralysis Case Study

Facial appearance is significant for everyday interactions, but hundreds of thousands of people have interactions negatively affected by facial paralysis (FP) annually. FP treatment utilizes multiple components and requires significant collaboration amongst multidisciplinary specialists and patients. Complex interactions in these contexts offer ample challenges for designers to technologically support healthcare providers in their processes. We conduct a formative case study, employing 20 clinic observations and 11 interviews, to investigate FP treatment workflow. We use cognitive authority theory (CAT) to understand relational factors in patient-provider collaboration. We then pinpoint structural and relational components of workflow challenges and discuss the utility of these distinctions; notably, we identify that patient adherence lapses caused by perceived plateaus may be primarily relational and caused by unmet expectations. Our work adds to patient-provider interaction literature and sheds light upon technology design for healthcare team contexts with significant patient obligations.