The science of meaning in chronic illness

A generation of ‘insider research’ into the subjective experience of being ill and the social context in which illness experience is played out provides us with a developing theoretical knowledge of what has come to be understood as the ‘meaning’ of illness. In this paper, a critical analysis of the tradition of meaning research forms the basis for an interpretive synthesis of what we now know and where future research might most appropriately be directed. Problems arising from some of the traditional approaches to knowledge development are articulated and potential solutions arising from more recent methodological advances are proposed. The relevance of this analysis for nursing practice knowledge and for the strategies for nursing’s scientific development are considered.