Making the Personal, Political—Using Autoethnography as a Method in Mental Health Nursing Research

K Foster; Margaret McAllister; L O'Brien

doi:10.1177/160940690600500303

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Making the Personal, Political—Using Autoethnography as a Method in Mental Health Nursing Research

Abstract

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Making the Personal, Political—Using Autoethnography as a Method in Mental Health Nursing Research

K Foster, Margaret McAllister and L O'Brien

International Journal of Qualitative Methods, Vol.5(3), p.25

Advances in Qualitative Methods International Conference, 7th (Surfers Paradise, Australia, 13-Jul-2006–16-Jul-2006)

2006

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/160940690600500303

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Abstract

Social Work

Nursing

autoethnography

mental health nurses research

psychosis

Autoethnography is method that aims to connect the researcher's personal self to the broader cultural context. Evocative writing, where the writer shares personal stories on their own experiences, is used to extend understanding of a particular social issue. Stories convey lessons, embody experiences and connect people, perhaps inspiring a collective identity and commitment to change. In this way, an issue which may have previously been considered personal becomes political. Although autoethnography is increasingly used within social science research, it is newly emerging in mental health nursing research. In this presentation the authors, all mental health nurses, discuss the particular resonance that autoethnography combined with narrative inquiry has for mental health nursing research. We use one particular study into the experiences of adult children of parents with psychosis to illuminate insights and issues that may be helpful to other researchers considering a design to powerfully evoke the personal experience so that it is moved into the realm of political and practical change.

Details

Title: Making the Personal, Political—Using Autoethnography as a Method in Mental Health Nursing Research
Authors: K Foster (Author) - James Cook University
Margaret McAllister (Author) - Griffith University
L O'Brien (Author) - University of Western Sydney
Publication details: International Journal of Qualitative Methods, Vol.5(3), p.25
Conference details: Advances in Qualitative Methods International Conference, 7th (Surfers Paradise, Australia, 13-Jul-2006–16-Jul-2006)
Publisher: University of Alberta, International Institute for Qualitative Methodology
Date published: 2006
DOI: 10.1177/160940690600500303
ISSN: 1609-4069
Copyright note: Copyright © 2006 Foster, et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Organisation Unit: University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99449333302621
Output Type: Abstract

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