IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v65y2007i8p1642-1653.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Using narrative analysis to understand the combined use of complementary therapies and bio-medically oriented health care

Author

Listed:
  • Hök, Johanna
  • Wachtler, Caroline
  • Falkenberg, Torkel
  • Tishelman, Carol

Abstract

Rather than using different therapies in isolation, many cancer patients use different therapies in a complementary fashion. Little research to date has given attention to individuals' experiences of the combined use of biomedically oriented health care (BHC) and complementary and alternative therapies (CATs). Therefore, this paper examines one individual's negotiation between complementary self-care methods and BHC in the treatment of cancer in Stockholm, Sweden. Using narrative analysis, we explore how a personal narrative is told, in addition to what is told, in order to see how the meaning of the negotiation between different therapies is created. Our analysis suggests that the BHC retains a vital role as a frame of reference for the use of certain CATs. It is also apparent how one CAT can be used for different purposes simultaneously by one individual. A positive example is given of how a spouse interpreted his experience of successful communication about CATs with a BHC provider as indicative of a shift from a hierarchical to a more collaborative relationship. Such increased collaboration between stakeholders is an important aspect of models of 'integrative health care'. Our findings highlight the need for an open and respectful dialogue about CATs between patients, their significant others and BHC providers.

Suggested Citation

  • Hök, Johanna & Wachtler, Caroline & Falkenberg, Torkel & Tishelman, Carol, 2007. "Using narrative analysis to understand the combined use of complementary therapies and bio-medically oriented health care," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(8), pages 1642-1653, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:65:y:2007:i:8:p:1642-1653
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277-9536(07)00311-5
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kelner, Merrijoy & Wellman, Beverly, 1997. "Health care and consumer choice: Medical and alternative therapies," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 203-212, July.
    2. Pawluch, Dorothy & Cain, Roy & Gillett, James, 2000. "Lay constructions of HIV and complementary therapy use," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 251-264, July.
    3. Nilmanat, Kittikorn & Street, Annette, 2004. "Search for a cure: narratives of Thai family caregivers living with a person with AIDS," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 59(5), pages 1003-1010, September.
    4. Hollenberg, Daniel, 2006. "Uncharted ground: Patterns of professional interaction among complementary/alternative and biomedical practitioners in integrative health care settings," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(3), pages 731-744, February.
    5. Opher Caspi & Mary Koithan & Michael W. Criddle, 2004. "Alternative Medicine or “Alternative†Patients: A Qualitative Study of Patient-Oriented Decision-Making Processes with Respect to Complementary and Alternative Medicine," Medical Decision Making, , vol. 24(1), pages 64-79, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chiu, Stephen W.K. & Ko, Lisanne S.F. & Lee, Rance P.L., 2005. "Decolonization and the movement for institutionalization of Chinese medicine in Hong Kong: a political process perspective," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 1045-1058, September.
    2. Dodds, Sarah & Bulmer, Sandy & Murphy, Andrew, 2014. "Consumer value in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) health care services," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 218-229.
    3. Michael S. Goldstein, 2002. "The Emerging Socioeconomic and Political Support for Alternative Medicine in the United States," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 583(1), pages 44-63, September.
    4. Éva Rásky & Willibald-Julius Stronegger & Wolfgang Freidl, 1999. "Nutzung unkonventioneller Heilverfahren bei Krebserkrankungen," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 44(1), pages 22-29, January.
    5. Josyula, K. Lakshmi & Sheikh, Kabir & Nambiar, Devaki & Narayan, Venkatesh V. & Sathyanarayana, T.N. & Porter, John D.H., 2016. "“Getting the water-carrier to light the lamps”: Discrepant role perceptions of traditional, complementary, and alternative medical practitioners in government health facilities in India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 214-222.
    6. Karolin Becker & Peter Zweifel, 2008. "Age and Choice in Health Insurance," The Patient: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Springer;International Academy of Health Preference Research, vol. 1(1), pages 27-40, January.
    7. Jaswant Guzder & Meenakshi Krishna, 2005. "Mind the Gap," Psychology and Developing Societies, , vol. 17(2), pages 121-138, September.
    8. Pedersen, Inge Kryger & Baarts, Charlotte, 2010. "'Fantastic hands' - But no evidence: The construction of expertise by users of CAM," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(6), pages 1068-1075, September.
    9. Braun, Virginia, 2008. ""She'll be right"? National identity explanations for poor sexual health statistics in Aotearoa/New Zealand," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(11), pages 1817-1825, December.
    10. van der Sijpt, Erica, 2010. "Marginal matters: Pregnancy loss as a social event," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(10), pages 1773-1779, November.
    11. Cartwright, Tina, 2007. "'Getting on with life': The experiences of older people using complementary health care," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(8), pages 1692-1703, April.
    12. Doran, Evan & Robertson, Jane & Henry, David, 2005. "Moral hazard and prescription medicine use in Australia--the patient perspective," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(7), pages 1437-1443, April.
    13. Kelner, Merrijoy & Wellman, Beverly & Welsh, Sandy & Boon, Heather, 2006. "How far can complementary and alternative medicine go? The case of chiropractic and homeopathy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(10), pages 2617-2627, November.
    14. Thomas, Felicity & Aggleton, Peter & Anderson, Jane, 2010. "'Experts', 'partners' and 'fools': Exploring agency in HIV treatment seeking among African migrants in London," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(5), pages 736-743, March.
    15. Fishman, Jennifer R. & Flatt, Michael A. & Settersten, Richard A., 2015. "Bioidentical hormones, menopausal women, and the lure of the “natural” in U.S. anti-aging medicine," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 79-87.
    16. Yen Yen Sally Rahayu & Tetsuya Araki & Dian Rosleine, 2021. "Predictors of the Use of Traditional Medicines in the Universal Health Coverage System in Indonesia," Global Journal of Health Science, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 13(6), pages 1-24, June.
    17. Keshet, Yael & Simchai, Dalit, 2014. "The ‘gender puzzle’ of alternative medicine and holistic spirituality: A literature review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 77-86.
    18. Adams, Annmarie & Theodore, David & Goldenberg, Ellie & McLaren, Coralee & McKeever, Patricia, 2010. "Kids in the atrium: Comparing architectural intentions and children's experiences in a pediatric hospital lobby," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(5), pages 658-667, March.
    19. Lemire, Marc & Sicotte, Claude & Paré, Guy, 2008. "Internet use and the logics of personal empowerment in health," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(1), pages 130-140, October.
    20. Li‐Hsiang Wang & Suzanne Goopy & Chun‐Chih Lin & Alan Barnard & Chin‐Yen Han & Hsueh‐Erh Liu, 2016. "The emergency patient's participation in medical decision‐making," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(17-18), pages 2550-2558, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:65:y:2007:i:8:p:1642-1653. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.