JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Despite high rates of novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination is low among Black adults. To address these disparities, our team has developed a digital health intervention (Tough Talks-COVID© or TT-C) with a digital storytelling (DST) workshop component featuring short videos created by and for yyoung Black adults.

Objective:

In evaluating DST workshops, we asked the following research questions: (a) What issues did participants have in conceptualizing their stories, and what themes emerged from the stories they created?; (b) What issues did participants have related to production techniques, and which techniques were utilized in stories?; and (c) Overall how did participants evaluate their workshop experience?

Methods:

Participants were eligible for workshops if they reported willingness to, or previous completion of a COVID-19 vaccine series in a baseline survey of 150 respondents fielded in late 2021. Our final workshop participants (N=11) are those who completed the consent process, all three workshops, and signed a media release form for their digital story. The first two workshops provided background information and hands-on DST skills from pre- to post-production. The third workshop served as a screening and feedback session for participants’ final videos. Qualitative and quantitative feedback elements were incorporated into all three sessions.

Results:

Digital stories addressed one or more of four broad themes, which we have labeled: 1) COVID-19 vulnerability; 2) Community connections; 3) Addressing vaccine hesitancy; and 4) Countering vaccine misinformation. Participants incorporated a wide array of technical approaches, including unique creative elements such as cartoon images and instant messaging tools to convey social interactions around COVID-19 decision-making. Most (9 of 11) strongly agreed the DST workshops were delivered as expected; 10 of 11 agreed (n=5) or strongly agreed (n=5) that they had some ideas about what story to tell by the end of the first workshop, and most (n=8) strongly agreed they had narrowed down their ideas by workshop two. Nine participants felt they would very likely (n=6) or likely (n=3) use DST techniques for personal use in the future and even more were very likely (n=7) to use the techniques for professional use.

Conclusions:

To our knowledge, our TT-C study is one of the first to incorporate digital storytelling as a central component to a digital health intervention, and the only one to do so with exclusive focus on young Black adults. Our emphasis on digital storytelling was shown to be highly acceptable. Similar approaches, including careful consideration of the ethical challenges of community-based participatory approaches are applicable to other populations experiencing both COVID-19 inequities and marginalization, such as other age demographics and people of color. Clinical Trial: N/A