THE INFLUENCE OF NARRATIVE MEDICINE TECHNIQUES ON THE ROLES OF POTENTIAL PATIENT AND FUTURE CAREGIVER – A PILOT STUDY

ABSTRACT The emergent field of the Medical Humanities defends the introduction of training in the humanities in healthcare contexts. Considering Narrative Medicine as one of the areas of the Medical Humanities, a pilot study was conducted with a group of 9 students (Medical and Humanities) to gain some insight as to if/how training in Narrative Medicine techniques (namely, close reading of and creative/reflective writing on literary narratives on the thematics of health) could promote changes in participants’ perceptions of their potential roles as patients or caregivers. Alterations were assessed using semi-structured, focus-group interviews carried out after training. Qualitative thematic analysis was used to examine interview responses. The interviews demonstrated that participants perceived that the training had enhanced their capacity to fulfill their patient and caregiver roles. Potential patients expressed a desire to interact more fully and efficiently in healthcare relationships and future healthcare professionals expressed a desire to attend their patients more comprehensively. Moreover, participants’ responses spoke to the potential benefits of using Narrative Medicine literary analysis techniques with mixed groups. The findings of this study are presented within the context of contemporary theories on the Medical Humanities and Health Humanities. Keywords: Narrative Medicine. Medical Humanities. Close reading. Reflective writing. RESUMO O campo emergente das Humanidades Medicas defende a introducao de formacao nas humanidades nos contextos da saude. Considerando-se a Medicina Narrativa uma das areas das Humanidades Medicas, foi realizado um estudo piloto com um grupo de 9 estudantes de Medicina e Humanidades, de modo a explorar como o treino em tecnicas de Medicina Narrativa (i.e., a leitura cerrada e a escrita reflexiva de narrativas literarias na tematica da saude) pode promover mudancas nos seus potenciais papeis de paciente ou cuidador. Apos o treino foram realizadas entrevistas de grupo de foco para explorar a percepcao dos participantes sobre as mudancas decorrentes daquele treino nos seus potenciais papeis de paciente ou cuidador. As respostas as entrevistas foram sujeitas a uma analise de conteudo tematica, tendo revelado que os participantes percepcionaram que o treino potenciou as suas capacidades de desempenho dos seus papeis de paciente e cuidador. As respostas suportam os beneficios potenciais das tecnicas de analise literaria da Medicina Narrativa com grupos compostos por profissionais de saude e pacientes, sugerindo que isso pode ajudar os profissionais de saude a atender melhor aos seus pacientes, mas tambem que pode permitir que os proprios pacientes participem de maneira mais completa e eficiente na relacao de cuidado. Os resultados sao interpretados no contexto das teorias contemporâneas das Humanidades Medicas e das Humanidades da Saude. Palavras-chave: Medicina Narrativa. Humanidades Medicas. Leitura cerrada. Escrita reflexiva.