Digital society is characterized by an over load of information. The multi-directedness of information, and the interactive character of on-line communication has made the search for relevant and accurate information challenging. At the same time, EU is expecting its citizens to be more in charge of their own conditions and invest with personal agency in risk management related to their health.
In this presentation we will discuss personal health narratives in the present society. Our focus is on how the personal health narrative works as a text/narrative intending to capture the complexity of life in context and responding to society´s increasing quest for subjective risk management.
We will exemplify our statements applying three contexts where personal health narratives are used as a way of explaining risks and benefits that concern health:
a) as a basis for the health communication involved in the DIPEx International projects,
b) as a key point of reference for public debate on key psychosocial-, somatic- as well as mental-health issues, and
c) as a key to therapy (e.g. in narrative therapy, clinical conversations, or as part of physical therapy, as well as an integral part of institutionalized life). A key for health workers who need the individual story to fully understand and interpret symptoms, to identify health strategies and useful therapies, and with the help of the personal health narratives, make the patient’s knowledge and experience an integral part of the knowledge landscapes that concerning the patient.