A qualitative study of illness narratives: ‘overcoming the monster’ master plot for patients with stroke

Alawafi, Rana; Rosewilliam, Sheeba; Soundy, Andrew

doi:10.12968/ijtr.2021.0131

Cited by 2 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…The main outcome measure was the vignette, with questions beneath it. The questions designed to elicit students' reactions and perception on vignette.The qualitative vignette created by R.A and A.S and based on narratives identi ed from past research (7). Students were informed that this information was derived (by R.A and A.S) from semi-structured interviews conducted on people 4 to 16 years after a stroke incident.…”

Section: Outcome Measuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Communication is central to establishing an optimal therapeutic relationship. Poor communication can have a negative impact on patients' psychosocial well-being (7). There are speci c risks to the quality of communication between HCPs and patients including stress on HCPs from heavy caseloads (4) or inherent biases toward the patients (8).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The plot relates to stroke as the different experiences related to, and following the onset of stroke can represent a monster which needs to be overcome. Examples of a 'monster' for people following a stroke include interpersonal challenges, mental health challenges, isolation and changes to their social identities (7). Student HCPs need to be aware of the importance of this master plot and understand how stories can be empowered or disempowered through interactions (17).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Overcoming the master plot is different from past master plots because it does not challenge the student's understanding of what may be possible in rehabilitation rather it reveals what is possible and has been achieved. Research is needed that identi es how student HCPs can work more effectively with different narrative master plots (7,14) and using different stories that show how people change post stroke (20).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Overcoming the Monster! Perceptions of physiotherapy students regarding the use of stroke master plots for building therapeutic relationships; a mixed methods survey.

Alawafi

Rosewilliam

Soundy

2022

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Background Research is needed that considers student health care professional (HCP) reactions to different stories of illness. Master plots identify illness stories which are recognisable within particular settings. One master plot for people with stroke that has not been well studied is called ‘overcoming the monster’. Students reactions to such a plot are important as a way to enhance therapeutic interactions. Objective To examine the responses of physiotherapy students to three variations of master plot called ‘overcoming the monster’ generated from patients who have had a stroke. Methods A qualitative narrative vignette study was undertaken. A university in the West Midlands was used to access physiotherapy students on the pre-registration programs. A purposive sample of students volunteered to complete a single vignette questionnaire at one time point. The vignette provided three unique examples of the master plot overcoming the monster as told by people with stroke. Students responded to each by asking specific questions that captured demographic information and questions that captured reactions to the different versions of the master plot. Categorical content-analysis was undertaken. Results Thirty-two first year (BSc) students, thirty-nine first year (pre-registration) MSc students and nineteen third year (BSc) students participated in this study. Neither first year groups had undertaken any clinical training. All third-year students had finished the required clinical placement hours for the physiotherapy course. Students consistently demonstrated empathy towards this master plot. Students often valued the variant of the story which illustrated how difficulties following stroke could be experienced as an ‘adventure’. Students also valued and were motivated by the story variant that considered a family member as a source of motivation and encouragement. The story variant which focused on the shortcomings of the health care system was more often related to by the final year BSc students and MSc students. However, first year students, particularly BSc students, reported being more emotionally affected by the vignette. Conclusion Overcoming the monster is a master plot which appears to generate more empathetic responses compared to other master plots. This is important because it highlights the value of students understanding the patients’ story and challenges or ‘monsters’ faced. Therapeutic relationships will benefit from training HCP students on the importance of listening, exploring and reflecting on the different master plots they may hear in practice.

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Section: Outcome Measuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Overcoming the Monster! Perceptions of physiotherapy students regarding the use of stroke master plots for building therapeutic relationships; a mixed methods survey.

Alawafi

Rosewilliam

Soundy

2022

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Communication is central to establishing an optimal therapeutic relationship. Poor communication can have a negative impact on patients' psychosocial well-being [8]. There are specific risks to the quality of communication between patients and healthcare professionals such as stress from heavy caseloads [5] or inherent biases toward the patients [9].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Overcoming the monster! Perceptions of physiotherapy students regarding the use of stroke master plots for building therapeutic relationships; a vignette study

2023

Self Cite

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Background Narrative master plots identify illness stories which are recognisable within clinical settings. Responses to different master plots by physiotherapy students can lack empathy and need to be understood further. One narrative master plot for people with stroke that has not been well studied is called ‘overcoming the monster’. Research is needed to understand physiotherapy students’ reactions to this master plot. Objective To examine the responses of physiotherapy students to three variations of the master plot called ‘overcoming the monster’ generated from patients who have had a stroke. Methods A qualitative narrative vignette study was undertaken. A university in the West Midlands (England) was used to access physiotherapy students on the pre-registration programs. A purposive sample of students volunteered to complete a single vignette questionnaire at one time point. The vignette provided three unique examples of the master plot overcoming the monster as told by people with stroke. Students responded to each by asking specific questions that captured demographic information and questions that captured reactions to the different versions of the master plot. Categorical-content narrative analysis was undertaken. Results Thirty-two first year (BSc) students, thirty-nine first year (pre-registration) MSc students and nineteen third year (BSc) students participated in this study. Neither first year groups had undertaken any clinical placement hours. All third-year students had finished the required clinical placement hours for the physiotherapy course. Students consistently demonstrated empathy towards this master plot. Students often valued the variant of the story which illustrated how difficulties following stroke could be experienced as an ‘adventure’. Students also valued and were motivated by the story variant that considered a family member as a source of motivation and encouragement. The story variant which focused on the shortcomings of the health care system was more often related to by the final year BSc students and MSc students. However, first year students, particularly BSc students, reported being more emotionally affected by the vignette. Conclusion All variants of the master plot overcoming the monster appeared to generate empathetic responses. This is important because it highlights the value of students’ understanding the patients’ story and challenges or ‘monsters’ faced. Therapeutic relationships will benefit from training physiotherapy students on the importance of listening and exploring challenges people with stroke face.

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A qualitative study of illness narratives: ‘overcoming the monster’ master plot for patients with stroke

Cited by 2 publications

References 26 publications

Overcoming the Monster! Perceptions of physiotherapy students regarding the use of stroke master plots for building therapeutic relationships; a mixed methods survey.

Overcoming the Monster! Perceptions of physiotherapy students regarding the use of stroke master plots for building therapeutic relationships; a mixed methods survey.

Overcoming the monster! Perceptions of physiotherapy students regarding the use of stroke master plots for building therapeutic relationships; a vignette study

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