This small exploratory study considers the use of the narrative approach in eliciting and understanding illness stories. The four participants, (two male and two female) range in age from 29 years to 74 years. They live with a variety of chronic illnesses (heart disease, Multiple Sclerosis, and Pick's disease). Narrative analysis of the four semi-structured transcribed interviews revealed four dominant themes: the emotional reaction to diagnosis; the role of stress in aggravating and coping with chronic illness; a view of death; the meaning attributed to illness. / A postmodern perspective is employed to explicate the social construction of the notion of chronic illness. A critique of the medical discourse regarding chronic health challenges is offered. / This study invites social workers to consider their position of power and privilege as they learn new ways of listening to illness narratives.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.33459 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Docherty, Deborah. |
| Contributors | Hopmeyer, E. (advisor), Leonard, P. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Social Work (School of Social Work.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001778641, proquestno: MQ70764, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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