Dr Becky McCall examines the potential of digital storytelling as part of the behavioural science framework.
Within public health, storytelling - including digital storytelling (DST) - is frequently examined through a scientific lens, whether as a research method or an interventional tool for influencing behaviour change. However, DST is inherently an arts-based practice, grounded in the creation of authentic, 3–5-minute videos that convey personal experiences of illness. Its strength lies in the interpretation and emotional meaning generated through the storytelling process, both for the storyteller creators and for audiences. In my recent work, I examine the potential of DST to relate experiences of antibiotic resistance and antibiotic adversity to the lay public. Using qualitative data from a public screening and discussion of five digital stories, we explore the extent to which this arts-based, largely emotion-driven method can be situated within a behavioural science framework, and whether it may form part of a causal pathway towards reducing unnecessary antibiotic use among the general public.
About the speaker:
Dr Becky McCall has been a medical journalist working for various global news outlets for 20 years. Most of her work has been in the written format, but she has also worked in radio and television. She has watched with interest as the patient voice has shifted from the margins to adopting an increasingly central role in medical discourse. Her recent PhD work challenged assumptions around public perceptions of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) through the creation of digital stories as an interventional tool to shape mindsets around the use of antibiotics. She has just been awarded a PhD from University College London. Some of her stories can be found at StoryBug.
Please note, the sound of the story Dr McCall showed in this talk was not recorded but you can find this story and others at her website https://storybug.org.uk/.
