Reinforce chapter themes with free access to two journal articles for each chapter and further online readings. Select chapters will also include suggested weblinks.

Journal Article 11.1: Charmaz, K. (2002) ‘Stories and silences: Disclosures and self in chronic illness’, Qualitative Inquiry 8(3): 302–28.

Discussion Points: How is qualitative data analysis used in this paper? What are the shortcomings and opportunities associated with this study?

Journal Article 11.2: Beal, C. C. (2013) ‘Keeping the story together: A holistic approach to narrative analysis’, Journal of Research in Nursing 18(8): 692–704.

Description: Delay seeking medical assistance for ischemic stroke symptoms is common worldwide, yet existing literature does not provide an adequate understanding of experiences at stroke onset. An explanatory narrative inquiry using a holistic-content approach to data was conducted to gain understanding of women’s experiences between symptom onset and hospital arrival. A holistic-content analysis retains the temporal dimension of each individual’s story so that the parts within the story are interpreted in relation to other parts of the story and the outcome of the story. The aim of this paper is to present the procedures for holistic-content analysis, address the trustworthiness of this form of narrative analysis and appraise the utility and limitations of the approach. It was concluded that holistic-content analysis is congruent with the philosophical underpinnings of narrative methodology and it is well suited to examine phenomenon that have a strong temporal dimension. The use of this approach alone to narrative data does not enable researchers to draw naturalistic generalizations and a structured comparison of the narrative accounts resulting from a holistic-content analysis is needed to identify similar and dissimilar characteristics of participants’ experiences.

Journal Article 11.3: Lavie-Ajayi, M. and Nakash, O. (2015) ‘“If she had helped me to solve the problem at my workplace, she would have cured me”: A critical discourse analysis of a mental health intake’, Qualitative Social Work 16(1): 60–77.

Description: Critical approaches in psychology and social work criticizing the current mainstream psychotherapy discourse have been gaining more ground in recent decades. Yet, little empirical research has, to date, explored therapy in regular practice to identify the discursive resources employed during the clinical encounter and the way such discourses create and maintain power differences and the boundaries of the therapeutic interaction. This paper is rooted within a post-structural perspective based on Foucauldian analysis which sees power as dispersed throughout the social field and emphasizes the multiple ways in which power differences are created and maintained through accepted forms of discourse and knowledge. Data were drawn from a large study of mental health intakes in clinics in Israel working with culturally diverse populations. We conducted critical discourse analysis on a single dyad including transcription of a recorded intake session and post-intake interviews with the client and the therapist. Based on existing critique of psychotherapeutic discourse for its individualistic and apolitical view, we explored how the hegemonic psychotherapy discourse is negotiated in real practice, the ideology it carries, and the power differences it perpetuates. We shed light on the way this discourse conceals social injustice and contributes to the disempowerment of the client and ultimately to a poorer quality of services.

Journal Article 11.4: Roddehghan, Z., ParsaYekta, Z. and Nasrabadi, A. N. (2017) ‘Equity in nursing care: A grounded theory study’, Nursing Ethics.

Description: Equity in providing care is also a major value in the nursing profession. Equitable care aims to provide the entire population with safe, efficient, reliable, and quality nursing services at all levels of health. This study was conducted to explain the process of the realization of equity in nursing care. This qualitative study uses Glaser’s approach to grounded theory. Participants and research context: Sample selection began with convenience sampling and continued with purposive sampling. A total of 27 people were ultimately selected as the study subjects. Data were mainly collected through unstructured in-depth individual interviews plus observation and field notes. The data were then analyzed using the “Six C’s” coding family of Glaser. The study protocol was approved by the Tehran University of Medical Sciences (91D1302870). Written informed consent was also obtained from all subjects. According to the findings, participants’ main concern in providing equitable care is the rationing of nursing care. The identification of participants’ main concern led to the emergence of the core category of the study, that is, “nurses’ domination.” The other categories revolving around the core category were conceptualized according to the six C’s coding family: “nurses being dominated,” “nurses’ ineffective power in the health system,” “low attention to equitable care in health system,” “lack of clarity in measuring equitable care,” “the health structure’s inconsistency with equity,” and “the inefficiency of the care system.” There is a mutual relationship between providing fair care and nurses’ perceptions of equity. Nurses who have themselves experienced equity can provide their patients the experience of equity. This mutual relationship is actualized in a context in which fair care is clearly defined and demanded.