Dualities of dementia illness narratives and their role in a narrative economy

Bibliographic Data

ID2249388
AuthorsA Hillman (0000-0003-1859-1075, Cardiff University, corresponding author), Ian Rees Jones (0000-0002-1682-9134, WISERD: Wales Institute of Social & Economic Research Data & Methods, School of Social Sciences Cardiff University UK), Charlotte Quinn (0000-0001-9553-853X, University of Exeter), Catherine Quinn (Centre for Research in Ageing and Cognitive Health (REACH) School of Psychology University of Exeter UK), Sharon M Neli (0000-0001-9055-3837, University of Exeter), Sharon M Nelis (Centre for Research in Ageing and Cognitive Health (REACH) School of Psychology University of Exeter UK), L Clare (0000-0003-3989-5318, University of Exeter)
Year2018
Volume40
Issue5
Pages874-891
Publication date2018-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociology of Health & Illness (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0141-9889 • E-ISSN: 1467-9566
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1467-9566.12729
PMID29663446
OpenAlexW2787413365
LanguageEN
Citations received14
References cited61

The concept of 'narrative economies' has recently been proposed as a set of exchange relationships that, through biography and story-telling, facilitate access to resources and act as a source of value. We utilise this concept to inform our analysis of 18 qualitative interviews with five people with dementia and four informal carers. Our participants are members of a pre-existing group of dementia advocates, representing the voices of those living with the condition. There are a growing number of people in the early stages of dementia - like our participants - being called upon to account for their experience, as a means of developing a politicised 'collective illness identity'. These interviews present an opportunity to study a group of people who are actively involved in speaking as, and for, people with dementia. Four themes emerged from the data: becoming a voice of or for people with dementia; biographical reinforcement; responsibilisation; and resistance. These themes illustrate the ways in which people with dementia participate in their own identity construction and, as representatives of those living with dementia, they also illustrate the ways in which illness narratives produce material and symbolic value

Aesthetics · Art · Biography · Dementia · Disease · Identity (music · Literature · Narrative · Narrative inquiry · Political science · Set (abstract data type · Sociology · Value (mathematics · Cultural, Psychoanalytic, and Sociopolitical Reflections · Education, Healthcare and Sociology Research · Gender Studies · Law · Medicine · Mental Health and Patient Involvement · Psychology · Social Psychology

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