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Audience Response to COVID Monologues: Research-Based Theater on the Societal Impact of COVID-19.
- Source :
-
American journal of health promotion : AJHP [Am J Health Promot] 2024 Mar; Vol. 38 (3), pp. 412-426. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Nov 20. - Publication Year :
- 2024
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Abstract
- Purpose: Research-based theater uses drama to communicate research findings to audiences beyond those that typically read peer-reviewed journals. We applied research-based theater to translate qualitative research findings on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on different segments of U.S. society.<br />Approach: Theater artists and public health researchers collaborated to create a collection of eight monologues from systematically sourced, peer-reviewed publications. Following three virtual performances in Spring, 2021, audience members were invited to complete a survey.<br />Setting/participants: Audience survey respondents (n = 120) were mostly U.S.-based and were diverse in terms of age, race/ethnicity, gender, profession, and experience attending theater.<br />Method: We summarized closed-ended responses and explored patterns by demographic characteristics. We synthesized themes of open-ended responses with inductive coding.<br />Results: Audience members somewhat/strongly agreed that COVID Monologues increased their knowledge (79.4%), represented the reality of the U.S. COVID-19 epidemic (95.7%), and offered new perspectives on what people had been experiencing (87.5%). Most also agreed research-based theater is an effective means of understanding health research (93.5%) and can promote community resilience in times of public health crisis (83.2%). Mann-Whitney U tests suggested less positive reactions from demographics that were not well-represented in monologue characters (cisgender men, Hispanics). Qualitative comments suggested audience members valued monologues that offered self-reflection and validation of their own COVID-19 experiences through relatable characters as well as those that offered insight into the experiences of people different from themselves.<br />Conclusion: This work adds to evidence that research-based theater can help build knowledge and emotional insight around a public health issue. As these elements are foundational to pro-social, preventative health behaviors, research-based theater may have a useful role in promoting collective response to public health crises like COVID-19. Our method of systematically-sourcing research for theater-based dissemination could be extended to target more specific audiences with actionable behaviors.<br />Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
- Subjects :
- Male
Humans
Pandemics
COVID-19 epidemiology
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 2168-6602
- Volume :
- 38
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- American journal of health promotion : AJHP
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 37983664
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1177/08901171231216204