Teach Better Through Storytelling

Think of a narrative from the Gospels of the New Testament. If Jesus was talking, he was usually telling a story to challenge listeners’ beliefs, point out inequities, or explain how faith in him results in changed lives.

Storytelling, whether fiction or true experience, is a communication form that can be effective as a health teaching tool. First-person storytelling—when an individual relates a narrative--and group-led storytelling, such as in support groups. are often used in chronic disease management.

Hearing traditional stories based on cultural symbols can help individuals understand and cope with an illness, such as using fables and stories with recognized traditional symbols in diabetes education for native peoples in Canada.

The methods of storytelling can vary from in-person sharing to video or DVD-presented narratives. Examples:

• In Vietnam, researchers gave DVD players to health participants to watch a DVD storytelling intervention.
• Community health workers shared stories orally in face-to-face sessions for cancer prevention.
• A low-resource area used the clinic waiting room to show recorded storytelling sessions.
• Using techniques from theater arts to enhance storytelling with songs or drama.
• Storytelling videos shared in low-cost urban housing developments encouraged residents to eat less salt and to exercise regularly.

Storytelling can bring about positive health changes in knowledge, behaviors, attitudes, and outcomes for people in myriad health and wellness situations: hypertension, medication adherence, dietary changes for diabetes and weight control, cancer prevention, and more.

As nurses, storytelling can enable us to to communicate more effectively and memorably with patients in many settings. As we read and absorb more of Jesus’ storytelling skill in adapting his narratives to the culture, knowledge, and interests of listeners, we may influence people’s health decisions and even convey spiritual truth.

Learn much more: Read “Storytelling: An Educational Intervention for Oral Learners” by Virginia Cadenhead in the current issue (40.4) of the Journal of Christian Nursing, doi: 10.1097/CNJ.0000000000000981 (It’s free this week!)

Virginia H. Cadenhead, PhD, MSN, RN, CNM, is an assistant professor of nursing at California Baptist University in Riverside, Calif. and has 23+ years of transcultural nursing experience as a missionary in North Africa and Central America.

The Journal of Christian Nursing builds and deepens nurses’ spiritual and faith-based lives personally and professionally. Membership in NCF includes subscriptions to print and online versions, plus free CE at quarterly interactive Journal Club webinars.