Beyond the Bedside

This book makes a bold but crucial claim: storytelling is not an embellishment to medical knowledge-it is the engine that drives it. Evidence becomes meaningful only when it is framed and interpreted within existing stories. Focusing on reproductive health, Beyond the Bedside explores diverse understandings of medical evidence in relation to some of today's most contested topics, including embryo selection in IVF, puberty blockers for transgender youth and abortion care. Across these cases, the authors reveal how identical evidence can lead to starkly different syntheses, guidelines, and public positions, depending on the narratives into which it is woven. Introducing the concept of deep knowledge translation, the book offers a new way of analysing how evidence moves across research, clinical practice, policy, law, and public debate. It shows why medical controversies persist and how understanding narrative dynamics can transform the way we produce and use knowledge. Available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.