Knowledge Structures in Illness Narratives

Development and Reliability of a Coding Scheme

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2394476
AutoresLara Stern (McGill University, autor de correspondencia), L J Kirmayer (0000-0002-6228-1739, McGill University, autor de correspondencia)
Año2004
Volumen41
Número1
Páginas130-142
Fecha de publicación2004-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaTranscultural Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1363-4615 • E-ISSN: 1461-7471
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1363461504041358
PMID15171211
OpenAlexW2063645689
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas15
Referencias citadas11

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