Volume 30, Issue 5: October, 2003

Abstract

*The Life History Interview Method: Applications to Intervention Development

Roberta Goldman, PhD, Mary Kay Hunt, RD, MPH, Jennifer Dacey Allen, MPH, DSc,
Sonia Hauser, RN, MPH, Karen Emmons, PhD, Marcio Maeda, MS, MPH,
Glorian Sorensen, PhD

There is an urgent need to develop and test health promotion strategies that both address health disparities and elucidate the full impact of social, cultural, economic, institutional, and political elements on people’s lives. Qualitative research methods, such as life history interviewing, are well suited to exploring these factors. Qualitative methods are also helpful for preparing field staff to implement a social contextual approach to health promotion. This article reports results and application of findings of life history interviews conducted as part of intervention planning for the Harvard Cancer Prevention Program Project, “Cancer Prevention in Working-Class, Multi-Ethnic Populations.” The salient themes that emerged from interviews with a multi-ethnic, purposive sample are centered on six construct domains: immigration and social status, social support, stress, food, physical activity, and occupational health. Insights gained from thematic analysis of the interviews were integrated throughout intervention and materials development processes.