Patient's expression of hope and illness narratives in three neurological conditions: a meta-ethnography

Hope has been identified as a key attribute required for neurological rehabilitation. Expressions of hope form the basis for patient narratives within this context. The purpose of this study was to use patient's experience of hope as a way of understanding narrative types. This study looks at three different neurological conditions: spinal cord injury, stroke and multiple sclerosis. Using a meta-ethnographical method, eight narrative macrostructures were identified by three groups of hope: (1) hope as a dichotomy, (2) hope as a paradox and (3) transcendence. The discussion provides further details of these groups and establishes how therapeutic emplotment may influence and guide narratives within neurological rehabilitation.