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Public & private accounts of help-seeking: The implications of research methods on the presentation of narratives

Dobson, Christina; Russell, Andrew; Brown, Sally; Rubin, Greg

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Authors

Christina Dobson

Sally Brown

Greg Rubin



Abstract

For people with symptoms that could indicate cancer, prompt presentation to a health care practitioner facilitates early diagnosis, improves survival, and is encouraged by public health agencies and cancer charities. Nevertheless, time to presentation from symptom onset (the patient interval) is known to vary widely. We report findings from a mixed-methods study examining help-seeking among people with symptoms of lung or colorectal cancer. Patients referred for urgent investigation were invited to complete a questionnaire about their symptoms and help-seeking experiences; 26 of these participants then took part in a semi-structured interview. Discrepant accounts of help-seeking were reported through the different research methods, with longer ‘patient intervals’ reported in interviews. We use the concept of ‘public and private accounts’ to reflect upon why socially conforming accounts of early presentation were presented in the questionnaires, whilst accounts of longer ‘patient intervals’ tended to be presented within an interview encounter.

Citation

Dobson, C., Russell, A., Brown, S., & Rubin, G. (2022). Public & private accounts of help-seeking: The implications of research methods on the presentation of narratives. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 25(4), 483-493. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2021.1904116

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 12, 2021
Online Publication Date Mar 23, 2021
Publication Date 2022
Deposit Date Oct 11, 2021
Publicly Available Date Sep 23, 2022
Journal International Journal of Social Research Methodology
Print ISSN 1364-5579
Electronic ISSN 1464-5300
Publisher Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 25
Issue 4
Pages 483-493
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2021.1904116

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