Narrative health research: exploring big and small stories as analytical tools.
In qualitative health research many researchers use a narrative approach to study lay health concepts and experiences. In this article, I explore the theoretical linkages between the concepts narrative and health, which are used in a variety of ways. The article builds on previous work that conceptualizes health as a multidimensional, positive, dynamic and morally dilemmatic yet meaningful practice. I compare big and small stories as analytical tools to explore what narrative has to offer to address, nuance and complicate five challenges in narrative health research: (1) the interplay between health and other life issues; (2) the taken-for-granted yet rare character of the experience of good health; (3) coherence or incoherence as norms for good health; (4) temporal issues; (5) health as moral practice. In this article, I do not present research findings per se; rather, I use two interview excerpts for methodological and theoretical reflections. These interview excerpts are derived from a health promotion study in the Netherlands, which was partly based on peer-to-peer interviews. I conclude with a proposal to advance narrative health research by sensitizing researchers to different usages of both narrative and health, and the interrelationship(s) between the two.
Department of Psychology, Health, and Technology (PGT), Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, University of Twente, PO Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands. a.m.sools@utwente.nl
Anneke
A
Sools
D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009014:Morals; D033262:Narration; D009426:Netherlands; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012106:Research