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Article published In: Narrative Inquiry
Vol. 31:2 (2021) ► pp.358–380

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Metacommunication process during a 3-day digital storytelling workshop for patients recovering from hematopoietic cell transplantation

A qualitative approach

 | Arizona State University, Phoenix
 | Arizona State University, Tempe
 | Arizona State University, Phoenix
 | Arizona State University, Phoenix
 | Arizona State University, Phoenix
 | Arizona State University, Phoenix
 | Mount Saint Mary’s University
 | Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
Published online: 20 April 2020
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https://doi.org/10.1075/ni.19036.kim
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to qualitatively analyze metacommunication during the digital storytelling (DST) workshop process for patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT).
Methods: HCT survivors who had undergone transplant within the past 2 years were recruited at a cancer center in the Phoenix Metropolitan area. Participants (M age = 51.5 years) attended a 3-day DST workshop telling and creating digital stories around their HCT experiences. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, line by line coding and content analysis were conducted with four research team members.
Results: Four themes emerged from the data: (1) communal connection; (2) expressing and processing emotions; (3) self-empowerment; and (4) multi-dimensional coping. Participants described telling and sharing their story with other HCT patients as therapeutic.
Conclusion: DST shows promise as a potential coping tool and offers multiple dimensions of the role of narrative as a coping technique, in community building, and in patient-centered contexts within HCT.
Article outline
  • Introduction
    • Digital storytelling: Validating experience and potential therapeutic value
    • Narrative theory and social cognitive theory as a conceptual framework
      • Listening to story as therapy
      • Telling one’s story as therapy
  • Methods
    • Participant recruitment and samples
    • The digital storytelling workshop process
    • Data collection
    • Data analysis
  • Results
    • Sample description and participation
    • DST experience: Emergent themes
      • Communal connection
      • Expressing and processing emotions
      • Self-empowerment
      • Multi-dimensional coping
  • Discussion
  • Limitations
  • Implications and conclusion
  • Conflicts of interest
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
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