Developing participatory research on women’s chronic pain: Methodological issues and the role of emotional labor

This article presents the initial results of a qualitative, inductive sociological study of participation in a participatory research project on women’s chronic pain. It is observed that:

• ▸ methodological choices and consideration of the practices of chronically ill women’s collectives contribute to the effectiveness of participation;
• ▸ although popular, these democratization practices encounter obstacles and resistance at an institutional level concerning doctor/patient relations and research accessibility. Moreover, they call into question the practices of scientists, which are often based on principles of distancing and objectification;
• ▸ within the project’s steering committee, patients deploy their skills in emotional labor and care to foster group cohesion and support the project’s members.