Wearing Two Hats: Interviewing Older People as a Nurse Researcher

• Published in: Medical sociology online 2009-06, Vol.4 (1), p.14-24
• Main Author: Ritchie, Lorraine
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Elderly; Interviews; Nurses; Nursing Homes; San Diego, California; Values
• ISSN: 1757-8310; 1757-8310

Interviewing older people is a common practice in qualitative research. Interviewing older people as a nurse who is a researcher is also not uncommon. But what is the relationship between the two roles of nurse and researcher and is there a 'correct' approach? Researchers listen to people in an interview setting in order to collect data; nurses listen to people to take a history, a clinical assessment towards a plan for the delivery of care. How compatible are these two approaches to interviewing? In this paper I explore the process, potential and actual tensions and particular challenges presented by the nurse-as-researcher interview with older people, using secondary analytic techniques to revisit and critique interview data collected as part of a doctoral research study exploring older people's medication beliefs. The central themes I identify from these 'double duty' interviews relate to older people's perceptions and expectations of the interview process, as much as to the interviewer's conduct. I go on to consider the contextual features of the older person/interviewer interface which may impact on the interview: notably gender, age, commonalities and cognitive and physical abilities. Finally, I reflect upon how these role complexities which are inherent in the qualitative interview serve to strengthen my approach as a novice interviewer thus confirming the value of reflection. Adapted from the source document.