Qualitative research in mental health: Part I - Issues ofcontext, conceptualization and change

Abstract

Qualitative research in mental health rises as an important resource in studies investigating questions not properly addressed by traditional, quantitative modes of inquiry. These questions refer mainly to the processes and the subjective meaning of illness experience. The anthropological perspective that orient this frame of reference proposes the understanding of illness as a cultural construction. Within the sistemic context, the paper poses conceptual and methodological topics that help delineate qualitative research in mental health, aknowledging the main contribuitions of medicai anthropology to the field. This paper is intended to introduce paramenters for discussion of qualitative research in occupational therapy, to be brought in the second part of this project.