Abstract
Objectives: Studies of storytelling (ST) used as a research tool to extract information and/or as an intervention to effect change in the public knowledge, attitudes, and behavior/practice (KAB/P) were sought and analyzed. Methods: Medline, EMBASE, PsycINFO, ERIC, Web of Science, Art and Humanities database, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched, and a basic and broad quantitative analysis was performed, followed by an in-depth narrative synthesis of studies on carefully selected topics. Results: From this search, 3,077 studies were identified. 145 studies entered quantitative analysis [cancer and cancer screening (32/145), HIV (32/145), mental health (10/145), vaccination (8/145), and climate change (3/145)]. Ten studies entered final analysis [HIV/AIDs (5), climate change (1), sexual health (3), and croup (1)]. ST techniques included digital ST (DST), written ST, verbal ST, and use of professional writers. Of the ten studies, seven used ST to change KAB/P; the remainder used ST to extract insights. Follow-up and evaluation were very limited. Conclusion: ST reveals insights and serves as an intervention in public health. Benefits of ST largely outweigh the limitations, but more follow-up/evaluation is needed. ST should play a more significant role in tackling public health issues. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42019124704
Highlights
The properties of storytelling (ST) are such that a personal experience, told with nuanced detail, resonates with the listener and may even validate their own experiences, helping them and the teller make sense both retrospectively and prospectively of real-life events [1].Back in 1964, phenomenologist Maurice Merleau Ponty wrote that the making of stories, “reveals things to us that we know but didn’t know we knew”, suggesting that ST provides access to a richness of information not necessarily available via other means [2].Increasingly, ST is used as a methodological tool in research, including that of health and social science [3,4,5,6]
The initial search for studies using stories, ST, or personal narrative in the public health arena provided a total of 3,077 studies, after removal of duplicates
This review found evidence to support ST as having inherent value in revealing nuanced insights on a wide variety of public health topics and played an active role in participants making sense of real-life events and changing KAB/P
Summary
ST is used as a methodological tool in research, including that of health and social science [3,4,5,6]. It is likely that many incidences of ST in health research remain undocumented for reasons of confidentiality. In many contexts, storytelling might be considered as lying outside the arena of entertainment. Lugmayr et al refer to such “serious storytelling” as narration that “progresses as a sequence of patterns impressive in quality, relates to a serious context, and is a matter of thoughtful process.” [7] ST with purpose beyond entertainment is one focus of this review, that is, ST as a research tool in public health
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