Volume 11 — June 05, 2014 TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES Using Written Narratives in Public Health Practice: A Creative Writing Perspective Tess Thompson, MPH, MPhil; Matthew W. Kreuter, PhD Suggested citation for this article: Thompson T, Kreuter MW. Using Written Narratives in Public Health Practice: A Creative Writing Perspective. Prev Chronic Dis 2014;11:130402. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd11.130402 . PEER REVIEWED Abstract Narratives have become an increasingly common health communication tool in recent years. Vivid, engaging writing can help audiences identify with storytellers and understand health messages, but few public health practitioners are trained to create such stories. A transdisciplinary perspective, informed by both creative writing advice and evidence- based public health practices, can help public health professionals use stories more effectively in their work. This article provides techniques for creating written narratives that communicate health information for chronic disease prevention. We guide public health professionals through the process of soliciting, writing, and revising such stories, and we discuss challenges and potential solutions. People attend, remember, and are transformed by stories. — Mary Pipher, Writing to Change the World (1) Background Narratives have become an increasingly common health communication tool, but few public health practitioners are trained to create them (2). The writing style suitable for technical reports, program summaries, and grant proposals is very different from the simple, vivid writing that helps audiences connect with storytellers and understand health messages. We believe that a transdisciplinary perspective that creates new approaches to problem-solving can give public health professionals insights from creative writing and narrative communication that will help them use stories effectively (3). This article draws from one author’s experience teaching creative writing and from the other author’s expertise in narrative health communication to provide techniques for creating written narratives that communicate health information for chronic disease prevention. Narratives are a natural, engaging means of communication. For public health purposes, a narrative is “any cohesive and coherent story with an identifiable beginning, middle, and end that provides information about scene, characters, and conflict; raises unanswered questions or unresolved conflict; and provides resolution” (4). Public health interventions may use fictional stories, authentic stories, or composite stories, which are realistic stories based on multiple narratives (5). Narrative interventions in various media have been used to promote health behaviors such as controlling hypertension (6), quitting smoking (7,8), receiving mammograms (9), and preventing skin cancer (10). One study, for example, found that reading narrative information about skin cancer increased the chance of engaging in preventive behaviors compared with reading an informational text (10). In another study, tailored success stories delivered through the Internet effectively promoted smoking cessation (8). Narratives may hold potential for targeting hard-to-reach populations and reducing health disparities (11). Narratives can also be used to disseminate information about chronic disease to policy makers (12) and to share stories about effective programs (2,13). One strength of narratives is their ability to engage audiences. Writer and psychologist Mary Pipher contends, “Stories are particularly effective in places where logical statements would inspire argument. If a story is well conceived and well told, listeners are likely to experience emotions that soften their positions and enable them to consider the speaker’s point of view” (1). Research has found that, compared with predominantly informational methods of Page 1 of 7 Preventing Chronic Disease | Using Written Narratives in Public Health Practice: A Creat...