Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 27, 2026
11:21
Methodology for Establishing a Community-Wide Life Laboratory for Capturing Unobtrusive and Continuous Remote Activity and Health Data
Published on: July 27, 2018
Digital storytelling across the life course: Protocol for a theory-based analysis
Steven Hall1, Michael Lang2, Lauren Czarniewski3
1Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Division of Geriatric Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Plos One
|June 25, 2026
Summary
This study analyzes digital stories to understand life-course health influences, offering guidance for using these narratives to improve patient-clinician partnerships and health equity.
Area of Science:
- Qualitative Health Research
- Health Communication
- Life Course Epidemiology
Background:
- Digital storytelling (DST) merges personal narratives with multimedia to share health experiences and foster empathy.
- Limited understanding exists on how DST represents life-course health influences.
- This study protocol outlines a theory-based analysis of digital stories using the Life Course Health Development (LCHD) framework.
Purpose of the Study:
- To map representations of cumulative exposures, critical periods, and transitions across the lifespan in digital stories.
- To provide guidance on leveraging DST for enhanced partnerships among patients, caregivers, clinicians, and policymakers.
- To inform the use of DST in health settings for improved health equity and patient-centered care.
Main Methods:
- A planned theory-based analysis of 105 digital story videos from Alberta Health Services (AHS).
- Utilizing the Standards for Reporting for Qualitative Research checklist for methodological rigor.
- Employing directed content analysis with a hybrid coding approach (deductive and inductive) in NVivo 14.
Main Results:
- Anticipated insights will illuminate how digital stories depict cumulative health exposures and life transitions.
- The analysis will identify key themes and patterns in life-course influences as portrayed in digital narratives.
- Results will provide a foundation for understanding the application of DST in diverse health contexts.
Conclusions:
- Study findings will guide clinicians in discussing life-course health trajectories with patients.
- Recommendations will inform health systems on investing in and utilizing DST platforms for learning and knowledge mobilization.
- The research will assist policymakers in integrating lived experiences into health equity initiatives.
Related Concept Videos
01:30Social Foundations of Self IV: Self in Digital Communication
Since the early 2000s, computer-mediated communication (CMC) has grown rapidly, playing a crucial role in self-development. A key distinction between CMC and real-life interactions is the lack of a physically present partner. This absence makes non-verbal cues such as facial expressions, body language, and paralinguistic signals unavailable in CMC platforms like email, instant messaging, or social media. The lack of these cues can create ambiguity and complicate how feedback is interpreted.The...
02:20Longitudinal Research
Sometimes we want to see how people change over time, as in studies of human development and lifespan. When we test the same group of individuals repeatedly over an extended period of time, we are conducting longitudinal research. Longitudinal research is a research design in which data-gathering is administered repeatedly over an extended period of time. For example, we may survey a group of individuals about their dietary habits at age 20, retest them a decade later at age 30, and then again...
01:29Life Histories
Constrained by limited energy and resources, organisms must compromise between offspring quantity and parental investment. This trade-off is represented by two primary reproductive strategies; K-strategists produce few offspring but provide substantial parental support, whereas r-strategists produce much progeny that receives little care. These strategies are related to an organism’s survival likelihood across its lifespan, which is represented by a survivorship curve. Three general types of...
01:24Social Foundations of Self I: Play and Game
The development of self in children is deeply rooted in social interactions, mainly through stages of play and structured games. These stages, outlined by sociologist George Herbert Mead, illustrate how children progressively learn to understand and adopt social roles, forming a cohesive sense of self.The Play Stage: Imitation and Simple Role-TakingIn the early years of childhood, the play stage is characterized by imitative behavior, where children engage in role-playing based on familiar...
01:22Case Studies
There are many research methods available to psychologists in their efforts to understand, describe, and explain behavior and the cognitive and biological processes that underlie it.
01:30Information Processing Approach
The information-processing theory of cognitive development centers on fundamental mental processes, including attention, memory, and problem-solving skills. Researchers in this field examine how cognitive abilities, such as working memory, evolve and influence children's overall development. Studies indicate that children with stronger working memory tend to excel in reading comprehension, math, and problem-solving compared to peers with less efficient memory skills. Low working memory is also...