Developing a Narrative Approach to Healthcare Research

Patients' perspectives on their experiences of illness and treatment are increasingly valued by the medical profession as a source of information to enhance professional development, peer support and the quality of care provided. This book explores the development of an in-depth, relational and reflexive approach to narrative inquiry, drawing on counselling and arts-based approaches to researching accounts of illness. The significance of patient stories is explored through narrative research conversations with people whose personal accounts of a range of conditions provide powerful insights into the impact of illness on identity, life stories and the experience of patienthood. It offers suggestions for using narrative methods in medical education and practice to help professionals to both attend to patients' narratives and reflect on their own stories. Developing a Narrative Approach to Healthcare Research will be of interest to educators, practitioners, students and researchers in healthcare and the social sciences. 'I will recommend this book to my students; I hope other healthcare professionals will do the same and that some, like me, will go on to explore how narrative and story can be harnessed to both explore experience and to teach within healthcare.' - from the Foreword by Karen Forbes 'I would recommend this book to everybody who is involved in caring for people who suffer serious illness - whether they are professionals, family or friends. I also recommend it to social scientists and health professionals who want to conduct research in ways that capture the richness of peoples' lived experience.' - Kim Etherington, Professor of Narrative and Life Story Research, University of Bristol, UK.