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Digital healthcare discourse: A comparative study of public hospice websites across cultures
Author(s)
Date Issued
2026
Citation
Wan, Y. N. (8 May 2026). Digital healthcare discourse: A comparative study of public hospice websites across cultures. International Symposium on Language Science (ISLS) 2026: Interdisciplinary Research and the Legacy of Yuen Ren Chao, PolyU, Hong Kong.
Type
Conference Paper
Abstract
This comparative study examines the ways in which digital support and interpersonal
engagement are embedded in the digital discourse surrounding public hospice centre
websites in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. In the digital era, these websites often
serve as the primary means of disseminating health information and hospice resources to
patients with terminal illnesses and their families and caregivers. Through analysing how
institutional communication in the health sector reflects sociocultural attitudes towards
expressing support, building relationships, and alleviating fear and pressure surrounding
end-of-life issues in these two regions, this study will make a valuable contribution to the
field of intercultural pragmatics. Focusing on the interpersonal metafunction and grounded
in Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), the research explores how lexicogrammatical
features construct discourse semantics and reflect the values and professional roles of
service providers, patients and the local community. In 2025, we compiled a corpus of 40
websites, with 20 from each region, totalling 52,086 words. Using computational analysis,
such as NLP-based topic modelling, and corpus tools such as AntConc, we generated loglikelihood ratio statistics to identify statistically significant thematic patterns. We also
conducted a nuanced qualitative investigation of collocations and concordancers to analyse
key lexicogrammatical patterns across the websites. We analysed specific sections of the
websites, including “Our Mission” to understand institutional purpose and targets, “Our
People” to learn about human resources, and “Our Services” to identify the range of
services offered. The findings reveal distinctive intercultural differences in communication
strategies between the two regions. For instance, websites in Hong Kong tend to emphasise
institutionalised, role-based, service-oriented discourse. They frequently use terms such as
“elderly”, “residential care” and “stage of illness” to categorise patient groups and
treatment pathways. Their discourse is more formal and service-centred, with a sharper
focus on professional expertise and systematic care structures. Conversely, UK websites
often adopt a more narrative-driven and emotional tone. The frequent use of personal
pronouns (“you”, “us” and “our”), storytelling devices (“families tell us”, “she said”) and
emotional realising collocation (“time is precious”, “stay the night”) establishes a relational,
inclusive, community-centred discourse. This discourse uses shared, personalised,
connected language that blurs the boundaries between professional care and personal
support. This study can enhance our understanding of cultural, discursive, and
lexicogrammatical differences in globalised digital healthcare texts, offering valuable
insights into communication in the hospice care sectors of the digital space.
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