Eighth International Conference on Health, Wellness & Society

Abstract

Narrative health interventions utilise personal stories from the target population to motivate others to change behaviour. Narratives are potentially a useful tool for promoting physical activity (PA), yet current findings are equivocal, and more research evidence is needed. The current research aimed to develop and evaluate a video narrative tool as a means of promoting PA in people with arthritis. This study was conducted in two stages; narrative development and, patient and healthcare professional evaluation. Stage 1 involved initial life-story interviews with 20 people with arthritis that informed the narrative content; 2 participants were then invited back to participate in a storytelling workshop and filming sessions to develop videos about their exercise stories. Stage 2 involved evaluating the video narratives using focus groups with arthritis patients and healthcare professionals. Participants responded to questions about narrative quality (e.g. authenticity, relatability, persuasiveness) and practical utility (e.g. uses in healthcare settings). Preliminary findings suggest participants perceived the video narratives to deliver a clear health message within an authentic story. Participants stated the videos portrayed “real people, in real settings, telling a real story” and perceived the videos could be useful to “nudge” patients to adopt PA. Yet, there were tensions regarding the utility of narratives to change PA without integrating traditional cognitive behaviour change approaches. Video narratives could be used as an adjunct to existing exercise programmes to motivate patients. Future research should investigate the effectiveness of these video narratives as an intervention to change PA behaviour.