Deeper inside the Experience of Pediatric Headache: A Narrative Study

Objective: To explore meanings, perspectives and points of view of the subjective experience of paediatric patients with headache (PPwH) and create a first-person narrative for clinical practice. Methods: We conducted a qualitative, narrative research study with PPwH, 11 - 17 years old. Data were collected through narratives interviews and a twofold narrative analysis was performed: a narrative and a thematic analysis. Results: Twenty-three patients (14 girls;mean age 14.5;median duration of illness of 5.8 years) were recruited. Through narrative analysis and close reading, narratives revealed different ways to organize illness experience: PPwH can use 1) narrative sequences of recurrent events in order a) to describe the continuing living-through of the experience of headache, b) to define operative script or c) to characterize the illness experience generally as a “controlled” routine;or 2) a storied account of events, with well-defined characters, plot and evaluation of contingency and correlation between events to express a personal point of view and a moral standpoint about the illness experience. Through thematic analysis 5 main themes and 22 subthemes about the significance of being a PPwH emerged: a) disease dimension (description of pain), b) illness dimension, c) sickness, d) causality, e) coping and f) future perception. Then, a first-person narrative story was created as a tool enabling reflection and conversation during clinical consultation. Conclusions: Results suggest that promoting narrative dialogue can be an opportunity for the neurologist: the prototypical narrative developed from story analysis might be a tool to apply for the narrative-based medicine in the clinical setting.

Narrative Research of Female Educational Experiences in China

Female education is an indispensable part of educational practice and research.In recent years,along with the development of both the women’s liberation movement and the expansion of the practice of female education,Chinese academic circles have become increasingly concerned with female education.Of these concerns,methodological innovation can be said to have achieved a great breakthrough in recent years.With the rise and development of“narrative research”in the field of education in China,new vitality has been breathed into the sphere of female educational research.Starting from the perspective of either historical studies or reality,researchers have made profound discoveries about the female educational experience,revealing Chinese women’s experiences in education,their stories of development,and the problems they have faced.Moreover,researchers have reviewed not only the freedom and restrictions that education brings to women,but also the influence exerted by Chinese education,cultural conventions,and social economic conditions on female progress and living circumstances.This article is mainly a comprehensive literary review of research by Chinese scholars who have used narrative research in their studies of female education.