Thesis
Local narratives of self and spirituality in sexual health
Southern Cross University, School of Nursing and Health Care Practices
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Southern Cross University
2004
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Abstract
This narrative thesis describes sexual health nursing as told by three experienced sexual health clinical nurses, who worked in Tasmania from 1993 to 2003. The narratives show how the Tasmanian social and political milieu influenced HIV/AIDS work during the 1990s, and also highlights the therapeutic, relational, ethical and spiritual dimensions embedded within the stories between client and nurse.
A narrative methodology from hermeneutic phenomenology, ethnography and narrative therapy in post structural discourse informed this research. The research methods included narrative interviews and reflecting teams, deconstruction, literary and discourse analysis, reflexivity and reflective practice, and writing a thesis as a (con)text. The methods combine in a unique anthropology to produce local auto-bio-socio-histo-graphies.
The thesis within the thesis aims to explore the practical and theoretical aspects of my work as a clinical nurse therapist in sexual health, and to provide a thickened local account of the relationships that develop from this work. The narratives also describe a sexual health nurse's work and documented 10 years of nursing activities in Tasmania. Local narratives about nursing practice include information on working with sex workers, Intersex, men who have sex with men, homophobia, haemophilia, sexually transmissible infections, experiences of burnout and organisational violence, hepatitis C, injecting drug issues, sex for favour, transsexuality, HIV/AIDS stories and community activities, and male sexual abuse. A large number of visual images add contextual layers that serve to thicken the narratives into a drama about sexual health nursing practice.
The literature reviewed shows that nurses have made a significant contribution to sexual health knowledge and practice, although this has been silenced by the dominant sexological discourse. The Australian literature suggested that nurses were knowledgeable practitioners, comfortable in sexual health work, and experienced a wide scope of practice that was qualitatively rich and linked to postmodern ideology.
Details
- Title
- Local narratives of self and spirituality in sexual health
- Creators
- Glen P. Curran
- Contributors
- Bev Joan Taylor (Supervisor) - Southern Cross University
- Awarding Institution
- Southern Cross University; Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Theses
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Southern Cross University
- Publisher
- Southern Cross University, School of Nursing and Health Care Practices
- Number of pages
- xvii, 485
- Identifiers
- 991013341490602368
- Copyright
- © Glen P. Curran 2004
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Health
- Resource Type
- Thesis