Diana and Suzanne Eggins have been leading contributors to the development of theoretical frameworks for describing and conceptualising the relationship between communication and patient safety and to the translation of empirical research to tangible outcomes that impact on practice. Their contribution is also on the development of unique evidence-based communication guidelines, protocols and practical tools, including training for clinicians across a range of contexts that derive from the research findings and authentic data. Underpinning these developments is the innovative translational research methodological approach designed and implemented by Diana and her team in the 3 national ARC projects as well as the Hong Kong projects she led. Central to this methodology is the audio and/or video recording and language analysis of many hours of authentic healthcare interactions. Due to the large-scale nature of the healthcare communication research projects, they now have one of the largest databases internationally on authentic clinician-patient and clinician-clinician interactions with data collected both in Australian and Hong Kong hospitals.
