Co-producing knowledge through dialogue in an interdisciplinary team in “person-centred” care for people with dementia: Dynamics of inclusion and exclusion

How does dialogue generate knowledge by harnessing “difference” as a transformative force? This paper examines this question through an analysis of the collaborative practices of an interdisciplinary social and health care team who provide an advisory service for residential care homes in relation to residents with dementia. Drawing on Bakhtinian dialogic communication theory, an empirical analysis is presented of how knowledge is co-produced collaboratively in team case meetings. The focus is on the shifting relations between different voices, articulating different knowledge forms and professional identities, and on the relational construction of ”person-centred care” and the collective identity of the team in opposition to the practices and identities of residential care workers and relatives of residents. In conclusion, the paper discusses the implications of the empirical results in relation to dynamics of inclusion and exclusion at work in the harnessing of “difference” in dialogue.