NARRATIVE MEDICINE AND TRADITIONAL MEDICAL INTERVIEWING APPROACHES IN WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER

Interactions between early-stage breast cancer patients and their medical providers were analyzed, focusing on the content of the medical encounter and the patients’ subsequent recall of that information. Traditional biomedical interviewing, narrative medicine approaches, and emerging types of dialogue were coded within these encounters. Observations of patient-provider interactions, structured and semi-structured patient interviews, and document analysis enriched this investigation. No “pure type” of patient-provider interaction was found. In order to relate the complex information about diagnoses and treatment options to women with breast cancer, narrative interactions included considerable biomedical information. Similarly, biomedical interactions often included narrative elements. A continuum was created and eight different types of dialogues were defined, as well as three other elements. A narrative approach was associated with improved patient recall when compared to more biomedical approach. This study suggests that narrative medicine may increase patient recall regarding diagnoses, treatment options, and actions.Doctor of PhilosophyDoctoralUniversity of New Mexico. Dept. of Communication and JournalismLutgen-Sandvik, PamelaLutgen-Sandvik, PamelaMcIntosh White, JudithKennedy, KathleenShields, JulieRamirez de Arellano, Adrian