Stories of chronic illness: exploring qualitative data through poetic transcriptions

As a research technique, poetic transcription transforms people's stories and enables deeper analysis and engagement between participants, readers and researchers. Chronic illness is often characterised as a 'biographical disruption', which may threaten a patient's self-identity and equanimity. Such disruptions often influence patients' perceptions of imminent life changes, social relationships and cognitive and material resources. Thus, poetic transcription offers a valuable tool for making sense of complex illnesses and lived experiences. This paper demonstrates how raw interview data can be reconstructed into a poetic format to highlight the nuances of people's lived illness experiences, which may remain elusive to them and others. A qualitative survey was conducted with a small group of patient participants, eliciting chronic illness narratives analysed through poetic transcription. Poetic transcription becomes a rigorous and legitimate qualitative research method through multiple iterations and extensive data engagement. Our main themes are focused on biographical disruption, temporality, humour, voice and ableism.