Thoughts on digital storytelling

Diabetes care extends far beyond the exam room, into lives shaped by cost, fear, stigma, and everyday responsibilities. In More Than a Diagnosis, a digital storytelling project from StoryCollab and East Tennessee State University’s College of Nursing, participants share personal experiences that reveal the importance of listening, practical support, and empathy. Developed through the Nurse Narratives Initiative with funding from the Tennessee Diabetes Coalition, these first-person films are designed to bring patient perspectives into nursing education and encourage care that reflects the realities of people’s daily lives.

StoryCollab’s new Nurse Narratives Faculty Fellows program recognizes nursing educators helping explore how digital storytelling, reflection, and authentic lived experience can strengthen empathy in nursing education and practice.

A digital story may last only a few minutes. Its impact begins much earlier—and can continue long after the screen goes dark. Nurses involved in the Nurse Narratives Initiative describe how vulnerability, attentive listening, and facilitated reflection can strengthen connection, belonging, and shared professional identity.

This collaboration demonstrates how digital storytelling strengthens food systems leadership by translating rigorous research into accessible narratives. The workshops deepen institutional impact, support HBCU Fellows’ professional development, and advance equity-centered, community-engaged scholarship.

When mothers tell their own stories, data comes alive. Their voices reveal gaps in care, build empathy among providers, and spark real change in maternal health systems.

As Hurricane Helene’s water rose to engulf Ballad Health’s Unicoi Hospital last year, Cherie Davis found herself working together with her colleagues to get their patients onto the roof and out of harm’s way.

Highlights from a digital storytelling workshop led by StoryCollab and Syracuse University professor Chie Sakakibara to amplify the voices of the Ainu people, Indigenous to northern Japan.

This workshop with CCI highlights the transformative power of digital storytelling. Participants like Dailin and Vishal used the process to reflect on their personal growth during their time abroad.