| ARTICLES |
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| Year : 2017 | Volume
: 15
| Issue : 2 | Page : 106-119 |
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Narrative medicine practices as a potential therapeutic tool used by expatriate Ebola caregivers
Cunningham Tim1, Rosenthal David2, Catallozzi Marina3
1 DrPH, RN is an Assistant Professor of Nursing at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA. He worked as a nurse in an Ebola treatment centre in West Africa in 2014-2015
2 Associate Professor at the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University. He works in Health and Policy Management in the Center for Family and Community Medicine at the Columbia University Medical Center
3 Director of the General Public Health program and Assistant Professor at the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA., USA
Correspondence Address:
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | 9 |
DOI: 10.1097/WTF.0000000000000138
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This study examined how expatriate healthcare providers used narrative methods to process their experiences of working with Ebola patients. Key informant interviews and associated media and blog posts were analysed using an inductive thematic approach. Open coding informed the creation of a codebook which, in turn, was the basis for axial coding and thematic development. A team of researchers collaborated in both coding and theme development in order to address potential subjectivity bias. In the results of 6.5 hours of interviews with 20 nurses, physicians and nurse practitioners, four themes surfaced regarding use of narrative methods: memorialising, advocacy, self-reflection, and camaraderie. Providers of narrative methods reported beneficial and therapeutic effects of writing and public speaking, as well as the therapeutic value of sharing narrative practices with other colleagues. Evidence in this context suggests narrative medicine practices may mitigate negative sequelae related to secondary traumatic stress.
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