Qualitative Health Psychology : Theories and Methods

The discipline of health psychology has grown rapidly in recent years, during a period of increasing debate about the nature of psychology and of science in general. Health psychology has tended to adopt the dominant positivist approaches and methods of its parent discipline, but questions are increasingly being asked about the relevance and legitimacy of these theoretical and methodological frameworks for health psychology, and there is growing interest in developing alternative approaches. One such alternative is to apply the theories and methods of qualitative research to health psychology. Qualitative Health Psychology examines a wide variety of qualitative research issues and considers their relevance for health psychology. The editors examine some of the main theoretical perspectives underlying qualitative research, such as discourse analysis and narrative research, and consider the social context and embodiment of health and illness. They also cover some of the practical issues involved in conducting qualitative research, including interviewing, and focus particularly on issues of research with different populations, such as children and the terminally ill. In addition, the book considers a range of analytic issues and specific analytic approaches such as grounded theory, action research and the evaluation of qualitative methods. Persuasive and compelling, Qualitative Health Psychology provides s strong case for the use of a qualitative framework in health psychology and is essential reading for anyone interested in the research or practice of health psychology today.