Why you should read this article:

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To understand the process of using service-user narratives to improve care

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To recognise the potential benefits and issues associated with the use of service-user narratives

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To contribute towards revalidation as part of your 35 hours of CPD (UK readers)

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To contribute towards your professional development and local registration renewal requirements (non-UK readers)

A narrative is a constructed story that people use to explain events and their responses to them. Understanding service-user narratives is important for improving their access to healthcare services and for personalising their care. This article offers an overview of narratives, describing the process of exploring service users’ narratives (exploration), defining the challenges they may be facing (challenge clarification) and supporting them to formulate new narratives to manage these challenges (new narrative formulation). The author uses a case study about a person with a learning disability to illustrate and explain these concepts.