Nursing students' perceptions of the efficacy of narrative photography as a learning method: A cross-sectional study.

Abstract

Although active learning methodologies promote students' creativity and motivation regarding learning objectives, traditional unidirectional teaching methods remain more common. The objective of this study was to determine nursing students' perceptions regarding the efficacy of narrative photography as a learning method, including self-perceived satisfaction. Narrative photography is an art-based technique inspired by Photovoice that promotes empathy, creativity, and reflection. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a nonprobabilistic sample of 66 nursing students from a public university in Barcelona, Spain. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected anonymously using an electronic tool. Descriptive statistics and thematic analyses were used to analyze the data. Sixty valid questionnaires were returned. The respondents found narrative photography's ability to promote creativity and assist understanding of theory to be its most satisfying aspect (>95% somewhat/totally agree). Narrative photography's usefulness, ability to foster self-criticism, and the associated workload was the least satisfactory aspect (>55% somewhat/totally agree). Significant differences regarding satisfaction levels were found for both age and sex. Narrative photography is a helpful and satisfactory learning method, especially for promoting creativity and understanding theoretical concepts.