Narratives as alternative in health research

The potential of narratives in understanding the meanings people attach to the environment and to themselves contribute to their use in qualitative research. However, few procedural details of these surveys are found, especially those that integrate reports into a single story. This work describes the production of knowledge in qualitative health research coming from the study of pleasure, suffering and illness in higher education teachers. The experiences reported in 25 interviews were the guide of an interpretive analysis based on the hermeneutic-dialectic and the construction of a new narrative by the researchers. The material was discussed and reviewed by the participants in a validation workshop. The data that was collectively built and the dynamics observed in the workshop confirmed the potentiality offered by this kind of investigation as a methodological alternative in qualitative health research.