title: Storytelling to access social context and advance health equity research.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Increased understanding of individual and social determinants of health is crucial to moving toward health equity. This essay examines storytelling as a vehicle for advancing health equity research.
  
  
  METHODS
  Contemplative examination of storytelling as a research strategy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  An overview of story theory is provided. This is followed by an examination of storytelling as a tool for increasing understanding about the contexts in which people negotiate health, strengthening participation of communities in addressing health issues, and building bridges between researchers and target populations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Storytelling can be a powerful tool for advancing health equity research. However, its effective use requires a renegotiation of relationships between researchers and target communities, as well as setting aside routine time to attend storytelling events and read a variety of stories.
authors: Winston-Salem State University, 601 Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr., 436 F.L. Atkins Building, USA. wallacejb@wssu.edu
authors: JoAnne
authors: J
authors: Banks
mesh_terms: D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D033262:Narration; D012107:Research Design; D035844:Researcher-Subject Relations