ABSTRACT Background This article provides a philosophical justification for a three‐step analysis framework in healthcare research, using the terms ‘address’, ‘talk’ and ‘refer’ to describe stages of reaching out to understand informants' subjective worlds. It also discusses the process for conducting qualitative research interviews and analysing these using hermeneutic phenomenology. Purpose To present an ontological strategy for hermeneutic data analysis, emphasising the importance of understanding patients' experiences through sensitive qualitative inquiry. Method We employ an existential lifeworld caring theory alongside hermeneutic ontology to guide the qualitative situational dialogue, the data collection process and the application to empirical research studies. This approach is structured around three sequential steps of data analysis aimed at accurately representing patients' perspectives on their lifeworld experiences and circumstances. Results The three analytic steps reflect that understanding a patient's experiences is guided by the topics the informant addresses in dialogue and how they do so. This is followed in the next step by focusing on what the informant is talking about, identifying what they consider most significant, and exploring the relationships between these topics and their present, past and future situations. The final step is focusing on how the informant refers to actual experiences, and how these are linked to what is being addressed and how it is being talked about. Conclusion We present an ontological strategy for hermeneutic data collection and a three‐step analysis, which makes the hermeneutic interpretation more transparent. Through the terms ‘address’, ‘talk’, and ‘refer’, this methodology offers a robust framework for capturing the nuances of patients' experiences. It contributes to a deeper understanding of their lifeworlds in an ethical way that is sensitive to informants' vulnerabilities. This study emphasises the importance of remaining attentive to informants' subjective experiences.