Keeping the story together: a holistic approach to narrative analysis

Abstract

Delay seeking medical assistance for ischemic stroke symptoms is common worldwide, yet existing literature does not provide an adequate understanding of experiences at stroke onset. An explanatory narrative inquiry using a holistic-content approach to data was conducted to gain understanding of women’s experiences between symptom onset and hospital arrival. A holistic-content analysis retains the temporal dimension of each individual’s story so that the parts within the story are interpreted in relation to other parts of the story and the outcome of the story. The aim of this paper is to present the procedures for holistic-content analysis, address the trustworthiness of this form of narrative analysis and appraise the utility and limitations of the approach. It was concluded that holistic-content analysis is congruent with the philosophical underpinnings of narrative methodology and it is well suited to examine phenomenon that have a strong temporal dimension. The use of this approach alone to narrative data does not enable researchers to draw naturalistic generalisations and a structured comparison of the narrative accounts resulting from a holistic-content analysis is needed to identify similar and dissimilar characteristics of participants’ experiences.