Fiction as method in qualitative research developed from the larger genre of arts‐based research. Fiction as method exists within a continuum of arts‐based methods ranging from those scholars who take aesthetic license with their work but primarily base their writing on accounts that are close to the experience; to scholars who fictionalize portions of a narrative ethnography (alter existing elements of a narrative for the purpose of providing anonymity to study participants or achieving literary aims); to scholars who write fictional accounts which are rooted in the writer's imagination in order to make a specific claim or point.
Ecuador, located in South America, has a population of 16 million people. According to the National Institution of Statistics in Ecuador, every year 8 out of a 1000 individuals die due to various causes. Palliative care and hospice are relatively new concepts for the Ecuadorian society. In Ecuador people usually die at home, in hospitals, or in nursing homes. In 2012, the first Ecuadorian hospice was created. According to symbolic interactionism theory, research needs to study participants’ world in order to understand the dynamic nature of human behavior. Symbolic interactionism proposes that human beings cannot be understood without the context of their interactions. Through an ethnomethodological approach, the following research aims to understand the way that individuals understand and describe death while in the local hospice in Ecuador. Results emerge from the introspection of real stories, field notes, participant observation, and informal conversations at the hospice. Based on a thematic analysis, the following study presents major themes that emphasize the dynamic process of creating meaning of death.
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