ABSTRACT
This chapter gives voice to a group of Guyanese women who emigrated to England over 40 years ago. The voices of these women were largely unheard as they tried to access health care for a long-term condition, in a society where they faced racist issues and oppressive practices. The researcher, a Guyanese woman herself, used participatory action research (PAR) methods of data generation consisting of storytelling interviews, focus groups and a research journal. The PAR approach endorses the centrality of storytelling in health care to transform peoples’ lives where participants bring their own knowledge and reflection to the research process. Constant validation of this knowledge is the cornerstone of the PAR process. For the researcher, keeping a journal was important because it facilitated reflexivity, which aided reflection, and encouraged the researcher to think about her reactions to the participants and record her feelings. This chapter will show how the women engaged in the PAR process, to increase their knowledge and understanding about their diabetes and take control of it. They changed their lifestyles, recognised the complications of diabetes and became more assertive when engaging with health care practitioners.
