Abstract
BackgroundThe World Health Organization (WHO) has called for global approaches to palliative care development. Yet it is questionable whether one-size-fits-all solutions can accommodate international disparities in palliative care need. More flexible research methods are called for in order to understand diverse priorities at local levels. This is especially imperative for Indigenous populations and other groups underrepresented in the palliative care evidence-base.Digital storytelling (DST) offers the potential to be one such method. Digital stories are short first-person videos that tell a story of great significance to the creator. The method has already found a place within public health research and has been described as a useful, emergent method for community-based participatory research.MethodsThe aim of this study was to explore Māori participants’ views on DST’s usefulness, from an Indigenous perspective, as a research method within the discipline of palliative care. The digital storytelling method was adapted to include Māori cultural protocols. Data capturing participant experience of the study were collected using participant observation and anonymous questionnaires. Eight participants, seven women and one man, took part. Field notes and questionnaire data were analysed using critical thematic analysis.ResultsTwo main themes were identified during analyses: 1) issues that facilitated digital storytelling’s usefulness as a research method for Māori reporting on end of life caregiving; and 2) issues that hindered this process. All subthemes identified: recruitment, the pōwhiri process, (Māori formal welcome of visitors) and technology, related to both main themes and are presented in this way.ConclusionDigital storytelling is an emerging method useful for exploring Indigenous palliative care issues. In line with a Health Promoting Palliative Care approach that centres research in communities, it helps meet the need for diverse approaches to involve underrepresented groups.
Highlights
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for global approaches to palliative care development
Constructivism acknowledges the presence of multiple realities; the understanding of phenomena is derived through participants’ subjective views that have been ‘shaped by social interaction with others and from their own personal histories’ [23].(p.42) In tandem, we drew upon principles of Kaupapa Māori research
Two main themes were identified during analyses: 1) issues that facilitated digital storytelling’s usefulness as a research method for Māori reporting on end of life caregiving; and 2) issues that hindered this process
Summary
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for global approaches to palliative care development It is questionable whether one-size-fits-all solutions can accommodate international disparities in palliative care need. More flexible research methods are called for in order to understand diverse priorities at local levels This is especially imperative for Indigenous populations and other groups underrepresented in the palliative care evidence-base. In response to the rapidly growing need for palliative care, the World Health Organization (WHO) has called for global approaches to palliative care development [3] This one-size-fits-all outlook has recently been challenged [4]. Logistical, infrastructural and economic disparities amongst the countries of the world, Zaman et al question whether localised alternatives might be more effective [4] They offer the contested notion of the ‘good death’ as one example. Dissimilarities in religious and spiritual expectations around death, appropriate place of death and views on euthanasia or assisted dying problematise a simple, unified definition of what a ‘good death’ could possibly mean [4]
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