Storytelling in Digital Health Technologies for Promoting Health Literacy: An Integrative Review

Articles in Press

Document Type : Review Article.

Authors

1 Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Graduate Program in Nursing, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.

2 Universidade Federal de Tocantins, Graduate Program in Nursing, Palmas, Tocantins, Brazil.

3 Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Graduate Program in Psychology, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Digital health technology should be an educational tool for child care and empowerment when applied to children’s health literacy. This study aimed to analyze digital health technologies that utilize storytelling resources to promote children’s health literacy. 

Materials and Methods: This integrative review was conducted in six distinct stages across major healthcare databases (MEDLINE/PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Scopus), selecting studies published between January and February 2023, guided by the research question. The search and selection process for articles was adapted from the Preferred Reporting for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Selected articles were assessed for methodological rigor using a tool adapted from the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme, and Rayaan software was used for data screening. Two independent reviewers were involved in article selection, extraction, and analysis. 

Results: Of the 13,049 articles identified, 15 studies were selected, focusing on self-care in health management, children’s feelings, and learning through storytelling. Digital health technologies included mobile applications, educational software, virtual reality, videos, and images, which used resources such as storytelling, animation, gamification, comics, storyboards, poetry, music, and interactive narration. Seven studies were identified regarding self-care and health management.

Conclusion: Digital health technologies with storytelling, when based on learning and promoting health literacy, can be important tools for expanding children’s experiences of self-care in health management, both inside and outside hospital settings. Therefore, further studies on this topic are needed, encompassing children, parents, teachers, healthcare professionals, institutions, and public policies from the perspective of child health literacy.

Keywords

Acknowledgements: To the authors of this research, for their valuable contribution to the development and revision of this article. We also thank the Pernambuco Foundation for Science and Technology Support (FACEPE) and the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) for their support.


Availability of Data and Materials: The data supporting the study's findings are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.


Conflicts of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.


Consent for publication: Not applicable.


Ethical Approval and consent to participate: Because this study is a integrative review, its primary objective is the synthesis and critical analysis of the existing literature. As the research does not involve the collection of primary data or the direct involvement of humans in the study, formal approval by an ethics committee or obtaining informed consent from participants is considered unnecessary. It should be noted that this approach aligns with the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki, ensuring ethical standards are upheld even in literature-based reviews.


Funding: This work was carried out with the support of Research Project Assistance from the Pernambuco Science and Technology Support Foundation (FACEPE), under process APQ-1163-4.04/22, and an academic scholarship from the Brazilian Federal Agency for the Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES).


Author Contributions: This study is the result of a collaboration between AKFS, RCRDS, WKASDP, APEL, JBDS, MDR and MWLCM. All authors contributed, reviewed and improved the manuscript equally. All authors reviewed the final manuscript. All authors read and accepted the published version of the manuscript.

 

Open Access Policy: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Journal of Health Literacy

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 15 November 2025

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