Part 4 So far in this weekly series on qualitative health research, I’ve talked about where QHR came from, and the important parts played by criticality and the ‘insider’ or emic perspective. This week I want to look at power. Perhaps one of the most important methodological decisions a qualitative health researcher will make in undertaking a piece of research is exactly how much theydesign, and how much is done with the people they are researching. Perhaps not surprisingly then, attacking the traditional power of the quantitative researcher and the institutions they represent has led to some of the most radical technical developments in QHR and healthcare … [Read more...] about Qualitative Health Research: A guide for the perplexed – Power
Having trouble talking to your patients?
Two articles published over the last two weeks suggest that we might be having some problems talking to our patients. The first, by Sullivan, Hebron and Vuoskoski (Sullivan, Hebron, & Vuoskoski, 2019) looks at the anxiety experienced by physiotherapists ‘selling’ their own explanations of chronic pain to patients. The therapists were trying to be patient-centred, but their efforts were undermined by ‘an underlying paternalistic wish to get patients “on board”’ (ibid). The authors attribute this anxiety to the confidence that the therapists feel in their biomedical understanding for pain, coming up against the patient’s values and beliefs that either contradict or destabilise their … [Read more...] about Having trouble talking to your patients?
The biomedical model – for better or worse
Over the last few weeks, we've been running a series of posts on the biomedical model. This approach, perhaps more than any other, forms the solid foundations for a lot of physiotherapy theory and practice, so it makes sense to try to understand it better. Here are the links to all the respective posts that make up the complete set: What is the biomedical model #1 - introduction and specific aetiology#2 - germ theory#3 - Cartesian dualism#4 - experimentation#5 - reductionism#6 - normalisation#7 - body-as-machine Critique of the biomedical model #1 - mind-body dualism#2 - medical power#3 - what it means to be a person#4 - standard deviation#5 - (ab)normal … [Read more...] about The biomedical model – for better or worse
3rd Critical Physiotherapy Course this week – Gail Teachman, Pierre Bourdieu, and the End of Inclusion
This month's Critical Physiotherapy Course talk comes from Gail Teachman, Assistant Professor, School of Occupational Therapy at Western University in Canada. Zoom link: https://aut.zoom.us/j/788298318 As always, the course is free, all you need to do is log in with above Zoom address at the right time. Here are the times in your local area: Location Local Time Time Zone UTC Offset Auckland (New Zealand - Auckland) Thursday, 18 April 2019 at 8:00:00 a.m. NZST UTC+12 hours Sydney (Australia - New South Wales) Thursday, 18 April 2019 at 6:00:00 a.m. AEST UTC+10 hours Perth (Australia - Western Australia) Thursday, 18 April 2019 at 4:00:00 … [Read more...] about 3rd Critical Physiotherapy Course this week – Gail Teachman, Pierre Bourdieu, and the End of Inclusion
30 Days of September: Day 21
Today's image was suggested by Jenny Nissler. Click on the image to open it to full size. You can then save it and turn it into a desktop background by following these brief instructions. … [Read more...] about 30 Days of September: Day 21
Vulnerability in research ethics
Blogpost from Cath Cruse-Drew Today’s blog is a summary from my notes and the reading list from a lecture given by Dr Silvia Camporesi. I was reminded of it this week by an email requesting subjects for a Stroke research project. Prior to Dr Camporesi’s lecture, I didn’t think enough about the difficulties around subject selection, and although I have much left to learn, I hope a summary of one aspect of subject selection is helpful to Physios who may be clinically orientated and not involved in research design. The concept of vulnerability in research bioethics emerged in the Belmont report in 1979, following the establishment of a National Commission which was itself a response to … [Read more...] about Vulnerability in research ethics
Kicking up, not kicking down
A friend of mine works with young people who are first- or second-generation migrants to New Zealand. Her job is to equip them with the skills they'll need to run campaigns, advocate for their communities, and improve the lives of the people around them. They're 'therapists' of a sort. She has a simple way of knowing whether someone is doing the right thing or not. She asks "Are you kicking up, or kicking down?" By 'kicking up', she means agitating against those people with power, the ones in positions in authority. All too often people find it easier to kick down: taking aim at the people who are easy targets, because they're vulnerable, less powerful, less fortunate. It's the … [Read more...] about Kicking up, not kicking down