Abstract

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Editors’ NoteJames M. DuBois, Ana S. Ilitis, and Susan G. DuBoisThis issue of Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics explores a series of bioethical topics through a narrative symposium, a qualitative research article, and two case studies.How do parents live through the diagnosis and treatment of a serious illness in their child? Confronting Pediatric Brain Tumors: Parent Stories, the narrative symposium for this issue, edited by Gigi McMillan and Christy A. Rentmeester, offers an intimate perspective on this difficult topic. The four commentary articles that follow these stories delve into the important insights offered by these parents.“Who Are You Going to Call? Primary Care Patients’ Disclosure Decisions Regarding Direct–to– Consumer Genetic Testing,” by Katherine Wasson, Sara Cherny, Tonya Nashay Sanders, Nancy S. Hogan, Kathy J. Helzlsouer, reports the results of qualitative research on primary care patients’ views, attitudes, and decision–making considerations regarding direct–to–consumer genetic testing. This timely article focuses on the disclosure decisions participants made regarding participation, testing, and results.As previously announced, we have established new and exciting partnerships with several important ethics consultation services. We are pleased to publish the first case from these partnerships in this issue: “I Don’t Know Why I Called You” by Jeffrey S. Farroni and Colleen M. Gallager from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. This case study details a request from a patient family member who calls without an articulated ethical dilemma. It also illustrates an approach to ethics consultation that seeks practical resolution of ethical dilemmas in alignment with patient goals and values.“Responding to the Refusal of Care in the Emergency Department,” a case study by Jennifer Nelson, Arvind Vernkat, and Moira Davenport, illustrates the ethical tensions raised by the refusal of life–sustaining care in the ED and how such situations can be approached in an ethically appropriate manner.News about Narrative Inquiry in BioethicsEfforts are underway to expand the audience of NIB beyond the academic journal world. We are working on developing high school and undergraduate curricula for our symposia, as well as pod casts of some of our stories. The current symposium topic will be our test run for another new project called, NIB Voices, which will host the personal narratives and commentary articles. This format will be made available to stakeholder groups and other institutions who offer funding for its creation. We are excited to find new ways of sharing the important stories our authors share with us.We continue to be committed to bringing readers rigorous qualitative and mixed methods research articles. Publishing qualitative and mixed methods study results in NIB has several advantages. Articles may be up to 7,500 words. This is a larger word limit than many journals offer. We strive to find excellent peer reviewers who will offer authors helpful feedback. The journal has been accepted for inclusion on PubMed/MEDLINE.For a list of current Calls for Stories and Author Guidelines, please visit www.nibjournal.org. [End Page v]Copyright © 2014 The Johns Hopkins University Press...