A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO DIGITAL STORYTELLING IN HEALTHCARE SETTINGS

Abstract

Human-centred design in the healthcare setting can include patients' and families' perspectives when researching, designing, and developing interventions. There are multiple qualitative research methods that may be employed to collect user data. Naturalistic video recordings are a powerful means of observing and coding multiple participants and evaluating their interactions over time. However, in the healthcare space, researchers need to be especially intentional with use of video-based data, so the confidentiality of all participants is maintained. Digital storytelling can be used as an effective way to securely share the interaction and emotions directly from the videos so that the content can be disseminated with researchers, clinicians, participants, and policymakers. The goal of the digital stories is to authentically convey observed experiences to a broader audience, including as educational tools for healthcare team member training. This paper presents a collaborative approach to producing animated stories that can be used to promote discussion and action for clinical quality improvement, from our work with birthing parents, their companions, and their healthcare team members in a hospital-based postpartum unit. We describe various considerations related to digital storytelling for provocation, involving multi-disciplinary stakeholders in identifying priority scenarios, and the development process of digital stories. Considering the growing emphasis on patient-centred and equitable healthcare, our reflection may be useful to designers and researchers working with sensitive data, or healthcare educators and administrators seeking ways to build more empathy around human experiences and prompt discussions to improve systems of care.