Knowledge Structures in Illness Narratives

Development and Reliability of a Coding Scheme

Bibliographic Data

ID2394476
AuthorsLara Stern (McGill University, corresponding author), L J Kirmayer (0000-0002-6228-1739, McGill University, corresponding author)
Year2004
Volume41
Issue1
Pages130-142
Publication date2004-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueTranscultural Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1363-4615 • E-ISSN: 1461-7471
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1363461504041358
PMID15171211
OpenAlexW2063645689
LanguageEN
Citations received15
References cited11

Illness narratives reflect patients' underlying illness schemas or models of illness as well as efforts to position themselves vis-à-vis a specific interlocutor and social context. Although the literature on illness narratives in medical anthropology has been dominated by the explanatory model perspective, people may use other types of knowledge structures to frame and construct their conceptions of symptoms. For this study, we developed operational definitions and a coding manual for three types of putative knowledge schemas: prototypes, chain complexes, and explanatory accounts. The operationalized definitions were then applied to coding a sample of illness narratives collected in a study of help-seeking in an urban community population. It was found that all three knowledge structures could be reliably identified in these narratives. This method of analysis provides a way to test hypotheses regarding the role of knowledge structures in illness narratives

Developmental psychology · Epistemology · Linguistics · Narrative · Narrative inquiry · Operationalization · Social science · Sociology · Computer Science · Empathy and Medical Education · Psychology · Race, Genetics, and Society · Social Psychology · Social Representations and Identity