# The health-promoting experiences of storytellers in group-based digital storytelling workshops: a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies

## TL;DR

Digital storytelling workshops help people reframe their health experiences, leading to positive changes in their attitudes and behaviors.

## Contribution

This study is the first meta-synthesis to explore how digital storytelling impacts health through narrative re-framing and emotional engagement.

## Key findings

- Digital storytelling workshops create a safe space for participants to reframe their health narratives.
- The re-storying process increases storytellers' sense of agency and control over their health experiences.
- Participants are motivated to use their stories to support others after engaging in digital storytelling.

## Abstract

To synthesize qualitative evidence, using the framework analysis method, on how participating in a digital storytelling workshop shapes the storytellers’ health attitudes, values, beliefs, or behaviors.

We conducted a meta-synthesis using the framework analysis method to generate analytic themes. We searched Medline, CINHAL, SocIndex, Embase, PsycINFO, SciELO, Academic Search Ultimate, Scopus, the Directory of Open Access Journals, and LIVIVO. We used the GRADE-CERQual approach to assess the confidence in the review findings.

We included 25 qualitative studies from six countries representing the experiences of 629 storytellers. Confidence in most review findings was moderate. Storytellers experience digital storytelling workshops as a safe space where they reframe the narratives around their health experiences. This re-storying process extends storytellers’ understanding of their health experiences, affords them a sense of agency and control, and motivates them to use their stories to support others.

We found evidence that digital storytelling enables storytellers to reflect and emotionally engage with the narratives shared in the co-construction of digital stories, resulting in a narrative shift that is likely to be experienced as health-promoting.

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42023478062, PROSPERO CRD42023478062.