• Zachary G Jacobs, Pamela Pierce, Adam S Hoverman, Asma Love, Patricia A Carney, and Elizabeth P Lahti.
• Division of Hospital Medicine, Department of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, School of Medicine, Portland, OR, USA. jacobsz@ohsu.edu.
• J Gen Intern Med. 2024 Dec 11.

BackgroundNarrative medicine (NM) emphasizes the vital role healthcare stories play in conveying patients' experiences and expanding health professionals' reflective capacity. Though predicated on inclusivity, social justice, and equality, NM programs do not tend to include communities with marginalized health narratives due to a paucity of trained facilitators.ObjectiveTo evaluate the impact of a novel virtual NM facilitator training intended to expand NM programming to minoritized communities.DesignMixed methods analysis of surveys administered before (pre), after (post), and 6 months after (6mo follow-up) the training.ParticipantsHealthcare professionals, scholars, caregivers, and patients self-identifying as a member of (n = 25/42, 60%) and/or working with (n = 36/42, 86%) minoritized community groups.Main MeasuresPerceived confidence and skills relating to NM and facilitating NM activities, and open-ended questions about the curriculum across three timepoints.InterventionsTraining occurred over eight half-day sessions with large group plenaries, facilitated small groups, and art and humanities workshops.Key ResultsResponse rates were n = 34/42 (81%), n = 29/42 (69%), and n = 21/42 (50%), respectively, for the three timepoints. Compared to pre-training, post- and 6mo follow-up surveys showed statistical improvements on six of seven items, including confidence and skill in facilitating NM activities (mean = 3.2 vs. 5.5 vs. 5.4), creating NM curricula (mean = 3.1 vs 5.2 vs. 5.2), defining narrative competence (mean = 4.2 vs. 5.5 vs. 5.3), engaging team members (mean = 4.7 vs. 5.7 vs. 5.5), identifying humanities materials (mean = 3.3 vs 5.0 vs. 5.1), and recognizing diverse perspectives (mean = 4.6 vs. 5.5 vs. 5.5). Pairwise comparisons showed post- and 6mo follow-up responses significantly increased (p ≤ 0.01) from pre-training. Participants reported facilitating more NM activities after training (mean = 1.5 vs. 1.9; p = 0.006).ConclusionsWe successfully recruited and engaged participants from minoritized communities to facilitate NM sessions. Future efforts should focus on objective assessments of skills, and more in-depth research using focus groups, observation, and key informant interviews.© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Society of General Internal Medicine.

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