Digital Storytelling In SE Alaska

Background: Over the past decade, digital storytelling has developed as a participatory media production method used in a variety of community, health, educational, and academic research settings.  Working with small groups of people on the process and production of short, first-person video pieces, transformational health messages can be created and shared widely.

Program background:  SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) operates 18 clinics, serving Native people in rural sites across the archipelago of SE Alaska.  These clinics are spread over a geographic area roughly the size of Florida.  They are located in areas that are only accessible in most cases by small plane, float plane or boat.  The terrain is rough and beautiful, but does not easily allow sharing and communication between villages.  It is often said as part of training to new SEARHC providers, “ask a patient a question and expect a story for an answer.”  The people of this region are primarily Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian tribal members who have thousands of years of history here.  Digital storytelling is an excellent tool for our Alaska Native people who are steeped in storytelling traditions.  It supports them to not just tell their journeys with health, but allows them to share the stories region wide in a cost effective way.  SEARHC has delivered digital storytelling as part of its health promotion and disease prevention efforts since 2009.  Participants were trained to create their own story and also support others in their rural communities who are also learning to do digital stories. 

Evaluation Methods and Results: SEARHC has digital storytellers in six of its clinical sites.  Each trained storyteller is tasked with coaching one more person in the skill.  To date, SEARHC has trained 22 coaches and 19 community members in digital storytelling.  The stories have been shared for program evaluation to funders, health promotion and for personal growth of the storytellers as well. 

Conclusions:  The software for digital storytelling is freeware.  By partnering with local schools for use of computer labs, the costs for this program are mainly travel related.  Other health promotion groups could effectively deliver this program in a similar way with costs only for initial training and whatever travel is needed to deliver it.  With partnerships in host communities for computer facilities, other costs could be kept to a minimum.

Implications for research and/or practice: Digital storytelling is a cost effective method to fostering self awareness and health behavior change.  It is particularly important to Native people as they journey toward health.