“Tia Bete” and other stories. A Pedagogy of Care through narratives

Abstract Despite movements that invest in narratives to confront the predominantly biomedical logic in health training/education, they are still timid, or fragile, and their pedagogical potential is underestimated. We investigated how narratives can contribute to a pedagogy encompassing technical knowledge and practical experiences to promote more humanized and dialogic interactions in health, shaped as Pedagogy of Care. Using the narrative theory (Ricoeur), Critical Pedagogy (Freire), and the care concept (Ayres), with diabetes education as a guiding thread, the study was based on the stories of twelve patients of a health service. The possibility of narrating, and not simply enumerating signs and symptoms, provided elements for opening up dialogue and cathartic effects resulting from the construction and sharing of stories. Looking at the plots and how they are woven together (scenes, settings, characters, values at stake), and not just isolated contents, the meanings of the disease were recognized regarding life contexts, limit situations, and expectant horizons. The stories emerged as powerful resources to promote syntheses between technical expectations of controlling the disease and concrete conditions of living with this chronic condition, highlighting the incorporation of metaphorical elements as a resource to address obstacles imposed by living with diabetes.