The affective turn and qualitative health research

The ‘affective turn’ is an emergent trend within the humanities, social science and psychology within which affect, emotion and feeling are being investigated as hybrid phenomena jointly constituted from both biological and social influences. Health and illness are similarly hybrid phenomena, and many of the substantive concerns of health researchers are thoroughly suffused by affective influences. Qualitative health research might therefore benefit by engaging with this work; this paper describes some features of the affective turn, and suggests theories and methods that might facilitate empirical research.