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The diagnostic process and the boundaries of normality
1Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
Qualitative Health Research
|November 11, 1999
Summary
Cancer patients navigate diagnosis by reframing normality. They transition from "nonnormal" to "normally diseased," finding legitimacy by redefining health and illness concepts.
Area of Science:
- Medical Anthropology
- Nursing
- Sociology of Health and Illness
Background:
- Cancer diagnosis disrupts individuals' sense of normality.
- Understanding patient experiences is crucial for healthcare.
- Lay and professional definitions of normality influence diagnostic journeys.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore how cancer patients and their significant others describe and explain healthcare encounters.
- To analyze the role of normality definitions in the diagnostic process.
- To understand how patients construct order amidst disruptive health situations.
Main Methods:
- Interdisciplinary approach combining nursing and medical anthropology.
- Semistructured interviews with 46 cancer patients.
- Interviews with 29 significant others of cancer patients in the Stockholm area.
Main Results:
- Patients actively construct order to manage disruptive situations.
- The diagnostic process involves a shift from being "nonnormal" to "normally diseased."
- Patients achieve legitimacy by meeting criteria that redefine normality.
Conclusions:
- Redefining normality is a coping mechanism for patients and healthcare providers.
- The study highlights the dynamic interplay between patient experience and diagnostic processes.
- Understanding these narrative strategies can improve patient-centered care in oncology.