Narrative approaches to healthcare research

Background: The significance of the patient's story has evolved over the centuries and has varied according to the importance placed on the subjective experience of illness. Patients are no longer regarded as passive recipients of healthcare; they have become active participants, with personal stories to tell about the journeys they have travelled from sickness to health.

Contents: Narrative methodologies play a valuable role in participatory health research. Listening to what patients choose to tell, rather than asking pre-determined research questions, involves a shift of power. A narrative approach offers a different way of exploring a patient's world and reflecting on our everyday practices. It respects the individuality of human experience, and calls for an individualized therapeutic response. Narratives can be analysed in different ways, with a focus on what has been told, or on why a story has been constructed in a certain way.

Conclusions: Narrative methods are increasingly relevant in the current climate of public and patient involvement strategies. Patients' stories can produce vital evidence about how they perceive their therapeutic and rehabilitation needs. They also illuminate how patients regard our everyday practices, what could be done differently and how we can respond to the issues they raise.