Narratives: Discovering the Social Dimensions of Disease

Narrative research includes a variety of approaches that rely on the written or spoken word, or on the visual expressions of individuals. These approaches typically focus on individuals’ lives from the lens of their own stories. The emphasis in such approaches is on the story, typically on the what and how of the narration. Indeed, narratives have become a catchword in the social sciences today; it promises to open up new fields of inquiry and in devising creative solutions to persistent problems.