Narrative communication in cancer prevention and control: A framework to guide research and application

Narrative forms of communication-including entertainment education, journalism, literature, testimonials, and storytelling-are emerging as important tools for cancer prevention and control. To stimulate critical thinking about the role of narrative in cancer communication and promote a more focused and systematic program of research to understand its effects, we propose a typology of narrative application in cancer control. We assert that narrative has four distinctive capabilities: overcoming resistance, facilitating information processing, providing surrogate social connections, and addressing emotional and existential issues. We further assert that different capabilities are applicable to different outcomes…

• NC
  National Cancer Institute