Narrative Diaries in Pediatrics: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Health diaries with both clinical and narrative elements have been widely used in pediatrics to study children's and families' experiences of illness and coping strategies. The objective of this study is to obtain a synthesis of the literature about narrative health diaries using the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews.Eligibility criteria: Sources were limited to: English language; narrative diaries; children/adolescents and/or parents/caregivers. Sample: The following databases were searched: PubMed, Embase and CINAHL with no time limits. Results: Among 36 articles included the most common context where a diary was implemented was the home (61%), the hospital (17%) and the school (14%). The most common diarist is the child or adolescent (50%). Paper diary was the most common type (53%), followed by the video diary (19%), the e-diary (8%) or the audio diary (8%). None of the studies explored the impact of the use of diaries on patient outcomes. Conclusions: The narrative health diary is used to report patient experiences of illness or common life from the point of view of the child, adolescent or other family members. The diversity of the diaries found shows how the narrative diary may be 'adapted' to different settings and pediatric populations. Implications: The narrative diary is a relevant tool for the exploration of children's and adolescents' experiences of illness and common life. Studies are still needed to describe the impact of narrative diaries keeping on children's health outcomes.

Lived experience of patients with Long COVID: a qualitative study in the UK

“…This detail could provide important insight to support clinical decision-making but also in the development of Long COVID support pathways that are relevant, accepted and lead to improved patient outcomes. Patient diaries have previously been used in intensive care units and are useful tools to document patients’ lived experiences 15 16. Diaries are flexible and adaptable tools that can be used anytime and away from face-to-face research and clinical settings16 which can bridge the gap in communication between patients and healthcare providers 17.…”

“…Patient diaries have previously been used in intensive care units and are useful tools to document patients’ lived experiences 15 16. Diaries are flexible and adaptable tools that can be used anytime and away from face-to-face research and clinical settings16 which can bridge the gap in communication between patients and healthcare providers 17. Diaries can allow Long COVID patients to remember their experiences independent of recall bias and without eliciting emotional difficulty that is brought about with an in-person consultation.…”

The Use and Impact of Diaries in PICUs and Neonatal ICUs: A Scoping Review

“…All 16 studies were published between 2001 and 2022. All of these studies were conducted in North America or Europe (Eight from the United States [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26], three from Italy [27][28][29], two from the United Kingdom [30,31], two from Denmark [32,33], and one from Austria (34)). There were seven qualitative studies (20,21,23,29,(32)(33)(34), three observational studies (22,24,27), two randomized control trials (19,26), one scoping review (28), one systematic review (31), one survey (30), and one quality improvement project (25).…”

“…One study also investigated the contents (29) and extent in which PICU diaries were used (30), whereas other studies discussed the use of PICU diaries as means of support (33) and gaining information in PICUs (23). We also identified a scoping review on the use of narrative health diaries both within and outside of the PICU (28).…”

Medicine, Value, and Knowledge in the Veterinary Clinic: Questions for and From Medical Anthropology and the Medical Humanities

“…In this question of self-narration or narration by a caretaker, we do have a parallel in human medicine with very young children who can't speak or others who for reasons of mental or physical restriction cannot narrate their own sense of how they feel or what took place [for example (38)(39)(40)]. But in those cases at the very least, the physician can usually read signs of pain in a bodily system like his or her own, or easily conduct some baseline tests for organ function.…”