Health Narratives as a Therapeutic Tool for Health Care Access for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
Allison Caudill, Libby Hladik, Megan Gray and 5 others
PMID 35867904WHAT IT FOUND
People with intellectual disabilities used co-constructed health narratives to prepare for appointments, share sensory needs with providers, and influence policy.
Three case studies show these stories helped them advocate for themselves, but no outcomes were measured.
Key findings
01Sixty-seven individuals with IDD co-constructed health narratives with facilitators using a three-phase virtual process.
02Three participants used their narratives to address specific barriers: preparing for medical decisions, communicating sensory needs to providers, and identifying gaps in public health data.
03The study reports no quantitative outcomes or effectiveness data; the authors state that studying effectiveness is a next step.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
This is a descriptive report and case series, not a controlled trial. There is no comparison group and no measurement of outcomes. Participants were not asked to disclose their level of disability, making it difficult to know if the results apply to people with more severe support needs. The three case studies are written by the participants themselves, which is a strength for voice but means the examples are selected for their success stories. The authors explicitly state that the effectiveness of health narratives for improving health literacy has not yet been studied.
Declared interests
No specific funding sources or conflicts of interest are declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this paper proves that health narratives improve healthcare access or health outcomes. It describes how three people used the tool and reports no data on whether it worked better than usual care.