StoryAid: Nursing Students' Relational Learning for Adolescents With Intellectual Learning Disabilities

Abstract

Background: Nursing students express fears and anxieties about caring for people with intellectual learning disabilities (ILDs). Educational storytelling interventions may help overcome these concerns and improve nursing care. Method: StoryAid was used and developed in the Heritage-2Health (H2H) Virtual Art and Drama Project. Eight online sessions followed a story about differences and connections. Two trained facilitators and three academic educators supported nursing students ( n = 15), adolescents with ILDs ( n = 7), their parents ( n = 7), and a specialist teacher to deconstruct, reconnect, and rediscover understandings using rights-based ethnographic evaluation and thematic analysis. Results: Themes included relating to the story and characters, participating in the storytelling process, relating to other participants in the storytelling, and relating learning to clinical contexts and professionalism. Conclusion: The partnership of StoryAid and H2H created safe spaces for nursing students to engage, challenge assumptions, and develop relational skills. [ J Nurs Educ . 2023;62(1):51–57.]