Kisa Sezer, Kisa Adnan
Department of Nursing and Health Promotion, Faculty of Health Sciences, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway.
School of Health Sciences, Kristiania University of Applied Sciences, Oslo, Norway.
BMC Public Health. 2025 Mar 18;25(1):1043. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-22209-1.
Digital storytelling (DST) combines narrative art with digital technology, and in doing so provides a medium for individuals, especially those within immigrant and refugee communities, to share their health experiences. While DST has been explored as a tool for improving health communication and literacy, its effectiveness remains uncertain due to methodological limitations in existing studies.
This review examined the use of DST in promoting health outcomes among immigrant and refugee communities, identified common challenges and best practices, and highlighted gaps in research and practice concerning DST's use in these populations.
The review used Arksey and O'Malley's methodology to systematically explore the literature on DST's effects on health outcomes in immigrant and refugee groups. It searched the MEDLINE/PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, PsychoInfo, and CINAHL databases for peer-reviewed research articles published in English up to February 15, 2025. The extracted data were categorized into four themes: DST and Health Outcomes, Challenges and Limitations, Best Practices and Effective Strategies, and Research and Practice Gaps.
DST has been applied in diverse healthcare contexts, including HPV vaccination promotion, chronic disease management (e.g., diabetes), and mental health interventions. Some studies reported improvements in health knowledge, self-care behaviors, and psychological well-being. However, the strength of evidence is limited, as most studies employed qualitative or quasi-experimental methods, relied on self-reported outcomes, and had small sample sizes. Challenges to DST implementation included technological barriers, digital literacy issues, feasibility concerns, and the need for culturally tailored interventions.
DST shows promise as a culturally adaptable tool for health communication, but its effectiveness as a standardized health intervention remains unproven. Healthcare practitioners may consider DST as a complementary strategy for education and behavioral support in specific areas, such as vaccination campaigns and chronic disease management. However, further high-quality, controlled studies are necessary to evaluate its long-term impact, feasibility, and cost-effectiveness before widespread implementation. Future research should prioritize rigorous methodologies, objective outcome measures, and longitudinal assessments to establish DST's role in public health interventions.
数字故事讲述（DST）将叙事艺术与数字技术相结合，从而为个人，尤其是移民和难民社区的个人提供了一个分享他们健康经历的媒介。虽然DST已被探索作为改善健康沟通和素养的工具，但由于现有研究的方法局限性，其有效性仍不确定。
本综述研究了DST在促进移民和难民社区健康结果方面的应用，确定了常见挑战和最佳实践，并突出了在DST用于这些人群的研究和实践方面的差距。
该综述采用阿克西和奥马利的方法，系统地探索关于DST对移民和难民群体健康结果影响的文献。它在MEDLINE/PubMed、Embase、科学网、PsychoInfo和CINAHL数据库中搜索截至2025年2月15日以英文发表的同行评审研究文章。提取的数据分为四个主题：DST与健康结果、挑战与局限、最佳实践与有效策略以及研究与实践差距。
DST已应用于多种医疗保健背景，包括人乳头瘤病毒疫苗接种推广、慢性病管理（如糖尿病）和心理健康干预。一些研究报告了健康知识、自我护理行为和心理健康方面的改善。然而，证据的力度有限，因为大多数研究采用定性或准实验方法，依赖自我报告的结果，且样本量较小。DST实施的挑战包括技术障碍、数字素养问题、可行性担忧以及对文化定制干预措施的需求。
DST作为一种具有文化适应性的健康沟通工具显示出前景，但其作为标准化健康干预措施的有效性仍未得到证实。医疗保健从业者可将DST视为特定领域（如疫苗接种运动和慢性病管理）教育和行为支持的补充策略。然而，在广泛实施之前，需要进一步的高质量对照研究来评估其长期影响、可行性和成本效益。未来的研究应优先采用严谨的方法、客观的结果测量和纵向评估，以确定DST在公共卫生干预中的作用。
