Stories that matter: a qualitative study of general practitioners' reflections and experiences of exploring patients' impactful life stories.

Abstract

Purpose: There is solid evidence of the impact of life experiences on health. Yet, knowledge of how general practitioners (GPs) relate to patients' stories of such experiences is sparse. This study explored GPs' reflections and experiences concerning managing potentially impactful patient stories.

Methods: We conducted four focus group interviews among Norwegian and Danish GPs and analysed them using Reflexive thematic analysis.

Results: Three main themes were developed. First, GPs apply various strategies to recognize and unfold impactful stories. Second, they attribute diverse purposes to engaging with these stories, from viewing them as instrumentally useful to recognizing their intrinsic value. These views influence GPs' objectives and strategies when managing impactful stories. The instrumental utility approach can lead to an unfair dismissal of impactful stories. Finally, the commitment of some of the GPs to patients' impactful stories is considered fulfilling and highly satisfactory but also associated with external resistance.

Conclusions: Patients and GPs encounter difficulties in addressing impactful stories, which resonate with the theory of epistemic injustice. Nevertheless, engaging with these stories is vital for providing ethically grounded and meaningful primary care. The paper proposes strategies and a conceptual framework to support work with impactful stories in clinical practice.