THE MANY MEANINGS OF UNCERTAINTY IN ILLNESS - TOWARD A SYSTEMATIC ACCOUNTING

Uncertainty is widely believed to be a central feature in illness expe riences. Moreover, communication is thought to be essential to the con struction, management, and resolution of uncertainty. Not surprisingly , however, there are substantial variations in conceptions and analyse s of this focal construct and its relation to communication. In this a rticle, we first argue that understandings of the role of communicatio n in health and illness can be improved substantially-thereby enhancin g both theory development and practical applications of health communi cation theory-by recognizing and reconciling sources of variation in c onceptions of uncertainty and by synthesizing various specific concept ions. We then review individual-psychological models, linguistic and d iscourse analyses, and sociocultural and historical perspectives on un certainty in illness. Following the review, we present a framework tha t synthesizes many conceptions of uncertainty. We close with a discuss ion of 5 challenges and opportunities for research and application.