And the Doctor Said….. Creatively Researching Healthcare in North Staffordshire Dr Jackie Reynolds BSG Conference Southampton University 1 st -3 rd September 2014

Introduction Background to And the Doctor Said… Research Design & Process Participatory approach Successes Challenges What next?

And the Doctor Said.. Staffordshire, Keele and Northumbria Universities AHRC Connected Communities project Exploring people’s experiences of healthcare in North Staffordshire (historically as well as recently) Four sets of creative writing workshops led by writers, actors, storytellers Range of ages, including many older participants.

Research Design Arts development in community health (White 2009) Medical humanities (Lovett & Tomkins 2013) Narrative Research (Elliott 2005) Arts-based research (e.g. Bernard et al. 2014; Rapport 2004) Importance of hearing ‘silenced’ voices (Bauman 2004a, 2004b)

Research Aim To generate new insights into people’s experiences of health, illness and medicine in North Staffordshire “Self understandings do not always take the form of soothing narrative solutions to life’s dilemmas. Rather, narratives may illuminate life as we know it by raising challenging questions and exploring them from multiple angles.” (Ochs & Capps 1996:23)

Women and Healthcare And with Partnership with Deborah McAndrew Intergenerational project; young Mums (3) and older women (7) Recruitment Four half-day workshops Audio-recorded conversations about health and illness Conversations transcribed; thematic analysis; developed into 3-Act audio-documentary Beginnings; Remembering; And the Doctor Said… Recorded by Unique Media Productions – shared in project website, exhibition and book

And the Doctor Said…. And with

Sharing the Storiesw 20 minute audio documentary Wealth of creative writing Published book containing all of the writing from all workshops Project Films See Touring exhibition

Exhibition Launch at Burslem School of Art, December 2013wi

Successesw Positive feedback from older participants On-going participation; exhibition opening and book launch; involvement of family Learning experience (writing and research) Advantages of audio documentary over other forms of creative writing Partnership working

Successes “For the creative practitioners the challenge is to stick closely to the brief and retain the discipline of addressing this at all times, rather than pursuing our own artistic instincts. The reward for success in this approach for the creative practitioner is in furnishing a more engaging environment for people contributing to research that has the potential to be rather dry. For academics there is the potential for a much deeper level of contribution from participants, who are more engaged through the use of imaginative techniques.” (Deborah McAndrew)

Challengeswi Participant recruitment & attendance Overcoming barriers to participation Vulnerability of some participants Sensitivity of subject matter Lack of on-going engagement by younger participants Time constraints Informed consent, anonymity, authorship Presenting the data – to edit or not to edit?

What next? On-going dissemination Exhibition to be permanently displayed in R & E Hub Follow-on project Writer in residence Build on existing partnerships and forge new ones More involvement of colleagues and partners in health Network of creative writers Ideas around training, further dissemination

Acknowledgements Arts & Humanities Research Council Colleagues on the research team: Mark Webster, Dr Alannah Tomkins, Dr Geoff Walton. Creative practitioners Deborah McAndrew, Maria Whatton, Dave Reeves, Chrissie Hall And most of all….the participants for their enthusiasm, and generosity in contributing to this project.

Thank you Any questions?wi My contact details: Dr Jackie Reynolds Tel

References Bauman, Z. (2004a) Identity: Conversations with Benedetto Vecchi. Cambridge, Polity Press. Bauman, Z. (2004b) Wasted Lives: Modernity and Its Outcasts. Cambridge, Polity Press. Bernard, M., Rickett, M., Amigoni, D., Munro, L., Murray, M. & Rezzano, J. (2014). ‘Ages and Stages: the place of theatre in the lives of older people’. Ageing and Society. Elliott, J. (2005) Using Narrative in Social Research. London, Sage. Lovett, L. & Tomkins, A. (2013) Medical History Education for Health Practitioners. London, Radcliffe. Ochs, E. & Capps, L. (1996) ‘Narrating The Self’. Annual Review of Anthropology, Vol. 25 pp Rapport, F. (2004) New Qualitative Methodologies in Health and Social Care Research. London, Routledge White, M. (2009) Arts Development in Community Health: A Social Tonic. Abingdon, Radcliffe.