Narrative care: Unpacking pandemic paradoxes

Abstract

During the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, public health has issued three interrelated dominant narratives through social media and news outlets: First, to care for others, we must keep physically distant; second, we live in the same world and experience the same pandemic; and third, we will return to normal at some point. These narratives create complexities as they collide with the authors' everyday lives as nurses, educators, and women. This collision creates three paradoxes for us: (a) learning to care by creating physical distance, (b) a sense of togetherness erases inequities, and (c) returning to normal is possible. To inquire into these three paradoxes, we draw on our experiences with Ingrid, an older adult who requires in-home physical care, and Matthew, a man with multiple disabilities including severe oral dyspraxia and developmental delays. We outline how narrative care is a counterstory to the dominant narratives and enables us to find ways to live our lives within the paradoxes. Narrative care allows us, through attention to embodiment, liminality, and imagination, to create forward looking stories. Understanding narrative care within these paradoxes allows us to offer more complex understandings of the ways narrative care can be embodied in our, and others', lives.

A personal reflection of risking and protecting lives during the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic

“…Hence, during the pandemic, the definition of 'care' means to maintain an appropriate distance from others by avoiding unnecessary visits to relatives, family, and friends. As Caine et al (2021) rightly suggest-to care for others, we must keep physically distant. Situations like the pandemic are exceptional circumstances during which unnecessary close contact compromises our survival and well-being, which alters the meaning of the current understanding of care in our society.…”

“…As Caine et al. (2021) rightly suggest—to care for others, we must keep physically distant. Situations like the pandemic are exceptional circumstances during which unnecessary close contact compromises our survival and well‐being, which alters the meaning of the current understanding of care in our society.…”

Steadfast is the rock: Primary health care Māori nurse leaders discuss tensions, resistance, and their contributions to prioritise communities and whānau during COVID-19

“…We used a narrative approach to record the Māori nurse leaders' stories to begin to collectively make sense of their experiences. We drew on the work of Caine et al (2021) who undertook an inquiry into their own lives, as authors, reciting their stories to unpack the dominant narratives of the pandemic, describing how these dominant narratives "create [d] multiple complexities as they collide [d] with our everyday lives as embodied and situated people, as nurses, educators, and women" (Caine et al, 2021, p. 2). Additionally, we drew on Kaupapa Kōrero, an approach that embraces Māori customary practices through the oral tradition of kōrero (a conversation or discussion) (Ware et al, 2018) [CW] As the Level 4 lockdown became imminent (starting 25 March 2020), the Māori nurse leaders mobilised themselves and their teams into action.…”