For this assignment you will need to identify someone you know with a chronic il

For this assignment you will need to identify someone you know with a chronic illness to
conduct a brief interview with and write up a summary and analysis of the interview. I
encourage you to identify someone very soon as you will need time to prepare your
interview questions and schedule the interview. Talking to someone with a chronic
health condition will you understand how someone with a chronic illness is impacted
over the course of his or her life.
An illness narrative can help you understand the larger
issues outside of the medical setting that impact the experience a person has with a
chronic conditions such as diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis,
fibromyalgia, or HIV.
You should use and modify Kleinman’s 8 questions to help guide
your interview. Feel free to add questions, but don’t get too specific, remember these
questions are meant to very open ended to allow the respondent to share their story.
Feel free to build off your respondent’s answers to ask follow up questions. For
example, if your respondent states that their fibromyalgia began after the moved to a
new city, you could ask some follow up questions on why that move may have impacted
the condition, how did it impact their mental health, exercise, etc.
If they think their disease was caused by their genetic makeup ask them why they think that. DO NOT
judge, CORRECT or EDUCATE at any point, as it may come off as OFFENSIVE or
JUDGEMENTAL. Try not to help diagnose, provide recommendations, or guide what you
think they should do. I know that you are nurses, and you want to help, but the purpose
of the activity is to learn and get their perspective. You are there to listen, to get their
STORY.
Also, the purpose of the interview is not to ask about a particular therapy or
treatment and how it’s used, AGAIN it is to let them tell their story. Let their story guide
your interview. Use Kleinman’s questions to let them do so. I encourage you to audio
record the interview and take detailed notes to help you remember their responses. An
interview should last about an hour and should take place in a private and comfortable
location for the respondent. After the interview you should take time to reflect on the
experience and summarize your experience in your paper. Feel free to get creative, for
example you can present the paper as a “letter” to this person’s doctor about how they
view their illness, its course and what kind of treatment they would like to get.
Assignment Guidelines
3-4 pages, 1” margins, 12 point font, double spaced.
Here is an outline of how to write your paper:
Introduction—Who did you interview and why? Include a thesis statement*
and make some conclusive observations about the main theme(s) of the
interview. Please use a pseudonym (fake name) when writing this section. You
should let the person you interview know that the interview is anonymous; that
you will not be using their real name or providing any other details that could
compromise their identity (address, phone number etc.)
Narrative—Describe their “narrative” or story related to this illness. Review all
the questions you asked and summarize their responses. You should NOT write
a transcript of your interview, instead you should summarize the story here and
analyze their responses. You MAY use direct quotes in this section, but the
majority of the content should be in your own words. Did they focus only on the
physical issues or did they emphasize how it has impacted their social, family or
economic life? Etc. Use examples from the interview.
Reflection—How did the 8 questions help you gain a perspective on how this
individual? What benefit did they/you gain in sharing/writing this story?
Conclusion—Summarize your paper. What role should narratives play in our
study of health/illness?
* Important: Please research what a THESIS STATEMENT is and what it should do for
your paper, failure to have a thesis statement will result in an automatic 5 point
deduction.