Developing clinical knowledge through a narrative-based method of interpretation.

ABSTRACT

The results of research using a narrative analysis provide new clinical knowledge, but the methods used are unknown to many readers. In this paper we present an example of how an analysis may be performed in practice. The purpose of the interpretation of this specific story was to develop clinical knowledge of how it is to live with chronic heart failure from a daily life perspective. The steps in the interpretation process, within the framework of Paul Ricoeur's Interpretation theory, were (1) general or naïve reading, (2) distancing, (3) examination of discourse, (4) conjectures and questions, and (5) reflection over the whole. The demonstrated interpretation of the interview resulted in a theme called "Struggling to comprehend medical information". This systematic way of working with narratives makes implicit assumptions about the relationship between meaning and language explicit. These themes can be used in everyday practice as clinical tools. Because of the interpretative nature of human understanding the experienced health professional will be capable of integrating evidence-based research findings and individual illness experience.