title: Influence of communal and private folklore on bringing meaning to the experience of persistent pain.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To provide an overview of the relevance and strengths of using the literary folkloristic methodology to explore the ways in which people with persistent pain relate to and make sense of their experiences through narrative accounts.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Storytelling is a conversation with a purpose. The reciprocal bond between researcher and storyteller enables the examination of the meaning of experiences. Life narratives, in the context of wider traditional and communal folklore, can be analysed to discover how people make sense of their circumstances.
  
  
  METHODS
  This paper draws from the experience of the author, who has previously used this narrative approach. It is a reflection of how the approach may be used to understand those experiencing persistent pain without a consensual diagnosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using an integrative method, peer-reviewed research and discussion papers published between January 1990 and December 2014 and listed in the CINAHL, Science Direct, PsycINFO and Google Scholar databases were reviewed. In addition, texts that addressed research methodologies such as literary folkloristic methodology and Marxist literary theory were used.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The unique role that nurses play in managing pain is couched in the historical and cultural context of nursing. Literary folkloristic methodology offers an opportunity to gain a better understanding and appreciation of how the experience of pain is constructed and to connect with sufferers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Literary folkloristic methodology reveals that those with persistent pain are often rendered powerless to live their lives. Increasing awareness of how this experience is constructed and maintained also allows an understanding of societal influences on nursing practice.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nurse researchers try to understand experiences in light of specific situations. Literary folkloristic methodology can enable them to understand the inter-relationship between people in persistent pain and how they construct their experiences.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing and Midwifery, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia.
authors.forename: Joyce Marie
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Hendricks
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000523:psychology*; D000529:Complementary Therapies; D006801:Humans
keywords: Foucault; Marxist literary theory; discourse; feminism; folklore; interpretive biography; literary folkloristic methodology; nursing research; persistent pain; social constructs; storytelling