Dialoguing With Images: An Expressive Arts Method for Health Research

West, Christina H.; Dusome, Debra; Winsor, Joanne; Klippenstein, Andrea Winther; Rallison, Lillian

doi:10.1177/10497323221084924

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Images, photographs, and visual art inhabited this imaginal, playful space and seemed especially powerful for reframing experiences as they gave outward form to previously shapeless, ambiguous thoughts and emotions which created new meaning. [30][31][32][33][34] When exiting this imaginal space, the group facilitator brought the imaginal world experience and the participants' everyday world together, so that the insights they gained in this space had an impact on "narratives of distress" in their everyday lives. 11(p82) Our grounded theory highlights important outcomes for cancer recovery that expand on previous quantitative findings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A grounded theory of how people process their cancer experiences through a mindfulness-based expressive arts group

Rieger,

Hack,

Duff

et al. 2023

Journal of Psychosocial Oncology Research &Amp; Practice

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Background: Given the distress associated with cancer experiences, there is a growing interest in mindfulness-based expressive arts interventions (MBAIs) for promoting patients' well-being. Our research objective was to develop a theoretical understanding of how patients with cancer experience, use, and draw meaning from an MBAI. Methods: We used a constructivist grounded theory research design and gathered narrative descriptions of participants' (N = 32) MBAI experiences through semistructured interviews and field notes. Participants brought the artwork they had created in the group, facilitating art elicitation. Data were analyzed with grounded theory methods. Results: Participants described how the dynamic interplay of mindfulness, the arts, group sharing, and bearing witness facilitated the processing and sharing of hidden thoughts, experiences, and emotions. The group facilitated several unique meaning-making processes, including re-envisioning personal identity within disruption and loss, creating a fitting container for the exploration of diverse emotions, revisiting difficult experiences within the sensitivity of art, and visualizing hope and healing. This process resulted in important learnings and benefits for living in the here and now: relational connections, facing cancer through artistic play, discovering intuition and personal resources, learning an emotional language and a new mindset to move forward, understanding what one needs to heal, and fostering gratitude and hope. Conclusions: MBAIs allowed for a multimodal form of meaning making which facilitated coping, adjustment, and living well with cancer. These findings will enable practitioners to design and implement more effective health services and inform future research about this therapeutically promising approach to psychosocial oncology care.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A grounded theory of how people process their cancer experiences through a mindfulness-based expressive arts group

Rieger,

Hack,

Duff

et al. 2023

Journal of Psychosocial Oncology Research &Amp; Practice

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The role of the imagination and the creation of a space for the imagination is foundational to artistic inquiry (Knill, 2005; Levine, 2019; McNiff, 2004, 2018; West et al, 2022). In our review, capturing participants’ voices within a creative process enabled important knowledge sharing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When designing future research studies, greater attention should be given to the study methodology. Arts-based research methodology, informed by expressive arts philosophy and theory (Knill, 2005;Levine, 2019;McNiff, 2018;West et al, 2022), has potential, but its applicability to digital storytelling must be further studied and articulated. Multimodal analysis (e.g., intertextual transcription) appear to be congruent with the purposes of digital storytelling, but this needs examination in different contexts Cultural adaptations to consider when using digital storytelling…”

Section: Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digital Storytelling as a Method in Health Research: A Systematic Review

West

Kenny

Chooniedass

et al. 2022

International Journal of Qualitative Methods

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Digital storytelling aims to illuminate complex narratives of health and illness when used as a method in health research. Digital stories are three to five minute videos that integrate written and narrated stories with multiple aesthetic components. There is increasing interest in digital storytelling as a research method, yet there is limited synthesized knowledge about its use. A systematic review to advance methodological understanding was warranted. Our systematic review purpose was to identify and synthesize evidence on the use, impact, and ethical considerations of digital storytelling as a method in health research. Key databases and online sources were searched for qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods studies using digital storytelling. Articles with pediatric or adult populations, family members, or healthcare professionals were included. The focus was on digital storytelling in health research, where it was used as a method, at any point in the research process. Two independent reviewers screened abstracts and full texts to confirm eligibility. We conducted a narrative synthesis of the extracted narrative data. The searches yielded 7285 articles. Following the removal of duplicates and screening, 46 articles met the inclusion criteria, which predominantly used qualitative methodology. An analysis of the extracted data resulted in seven descriptive themes which provided insight into the purpose, definition, process, context, impact and ethical considerations of this method. Digital storytelling is an empowering and disruptive method that captures voice through a process-oriented, flexible approach. It is particularly effective at honouring local and cultural knowledge, and evoking change. Researchers have used consistent facilitation approaches, but theoretical inconsistency, diverse positioning in analysis, and ethical complexity remain significant challenges. These findings provide methodological insight for applying digital storytelling in future research. Systematic review protocol registration: CRD42017068002.

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“…As qualitative research methods become more accepted as legitimate approaches to knowledge production across health fields, researchers who use qualitative methods are exploring new and innovative ways of conducting research and generating insightful knowledge claims (e.g. Jellema et al, 2019; West et al, 2022). When designed and conducted rigorously, QSC offers an innovative way of approaching health research that allows us to answer research questions and generate important insights not always possible using other research methods.…”

Section: Concluding Commentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Qualitative Story Completion: Opportunities and Considerations for Health Research

et al. 2023

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Qualitative story completion (QSC) is an innovative research method that offers researchers a range of unique opportunities for generating and analysing data. Participants are asked to write a ‘story’ in response to a hypothetical ‘story stem’, often in the third-person and involving fictional characters, rather than reporting on their direct experiences. QSC is being developed and increasingly taken up by researchers working across a range of fields; but it has been little used in health research, especially in the fields of nursing, health services research, medicine, and allied health. This means that health researchers have few examples to draw on when considering what QSC can offer them and how to rigorously design, conduct, and report a QSC study within health-related fields. We aim to address this gap and contribute to existing QSC literature by promoting increased use of QSC by health researchers and supporting them to produce rigorous QSC research. We outline three case examples illustrating how we have used QSC to conduct multidisciplinary health research relevant to nursing, medicine and nutrition. Drawing on these case examples, we reflect on challenges that we encountered, describe decision-making processes, and offer recommendations for conducting rigorous health research using QSC.

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Dialoguing With Images: An Expressive Arts Method for Health Research

Cited by 9 publications

References 41 publications

A grounded theory of how people process their cancer experiences through a mindfulness-based expressive arts group

A grounded theory of how people process their cancer experiences through a mindfulness-based expressive arts group

Digital Storytelling as a Method in Health Research: A Systematic Review

Qualitative Story Completion: Opportunities and Considerations for Health Research

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