Bringing lung cancer above ground through storytelling: Creating a lung cancer advocacy network.

OBJECTIVE

We developed a conceptual framework for creating lung cancer advocacy networks (LCANs) that engaged diverse advocates with complex relationships to lung cancer (LC) across disciplinary settings to address the challenges associated with the medical care and social complexity of LC.

METHODS

This qualitative research used participatory action research and grounded theory methods to construct a conceptual framework for LCAN development.

RESULTS

Twenty-four LC advocates across disciplines participated in 7 focus groups and 4 interviews. Four major themes and a singular subtheme emerged from transcript analysis: a) historic stigma has broad implications for LC; b) discordant communication impacts LC care, c) the future of LC care is hopeful due to medical advances; d) a LCAN requires intentional organizational communication. Storytelling emerged as a subtheme of intentional organizational communication. Storytelling is a primary communication tool that can address the medical and psychosocial challenges of LC.

INNOVATION: This model provides an innovative framework for LCANs to engage diverse advocate-types and use storytelling as a primary organizational communication strategy to improve LC care.

CONCLUSION

Our model promotes storytelling as integral to address medical and psychosocial challenges associated with LC care.