The power of storytelling: Using narrative in the healthcare context

Abstract

Information exchange and relational development, as well as health behaviour change via clinical counselling, occur in the medical interview. In the realm of more widespread health education efforts, the public can be educated about health issues through persuasive health campaigns. Within medical training, there are issues of learning both the art and science of medicine, understanding the basic science of disease as well as the individual patient's illness experience and its influence on health. Narrative is a key communication strategy and concept crucial in all of these interrelated issues, as human beings are all storytellers. Understanding patients' experiences in the clinical encounter and in clinical training through their stories, and communicating health information in a persuasive, easily understood manner in various settings may be accomplished through the use of narrative, as a clinical counselling strategy, an information-gathering technique, and a teaching tool. This paper will advance narrative in medicine by presenting various theories and extant work supporting its use in interpersonal and mass communication settings, highlighting background and theoretical support for its use as a message strategy as well as a communication and educational tool. In closing, practical ways to implement narrative in clinical contexts will be offered.

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