"It Encourages Family Discussion": A Mixed-Methods Examination of the This Is Us Alzheimer's Disease & Caregiving Storyline

Survivors' perspectives on saying goodbye: Implications for end-of-life engagement across the lifespan and grieving process

Family members are often unaware of their loved ones' final wishes and underestimate the need to talk about them before parents reach end-of-life (EOL). The benefits of engaging in EOL conversations alleviate needless suffering and can allow an opportunity to say goodbye in a meaningful way. We examined final conversations 13 adults recalled having with their aging parents through the lens of the opportunity model for presence (OMP) during the EOL process, a communication process model based on engagement in the dying process from diagnosis through bereavement, to understand the process from the survivor's perspective, looking at content of conversations and where they occurred in the dying process. Findings illustrate final conversations that align with the socio-cultural space of the OMP before the knowledge that a parent was dying, and when entering imminent death engaging in the critical moments, have implications for the grief and bereavement.

Mediated depictions of mental health, chronic care and literacy: a narrative analysis of Randall's mental health journey in the television series, This is Us

Introduction

Mental health and delivery of care is a global issue, that was only magnified by COVID-19. Over the past 3 years, people's time spent watching television increased, while the way that mental health care was delivered changed. Audiences can gain insight into mental health issues through positive or negative mediated depictions on television. We argue that mental health is a chronic condition and the importance of literacy through different domains is critical for how the characters in media content and audience viewers make sense of mental health.

Method

The current study uses qualitative narrative analysis to examine the narrative probability and fidelity at the intersection of mental health depictions, the chronic care model, and different types of literacy in the award-winning series, This is Us.

Results

Findings reveal that Randall's experiences with mental health (N = 38 episodes) depict moments of narrative coherence and fidelity to varying degrees. We see Randall's experiences align most with the self-management support and community elements of the CCM, but the overall depiction is unbalanced. Randall's literacy level is high, but if inspected on a deeper level, analysis points to differing levels of health and mental health literacy, thus enabling and constraining positive and realistic portrayals of mental health.

Discussion

Implications for mental health as a chronic issue and care delivery through CCM are discussed along with the importance of different types of literacy for audience members who may be struggling with a mental health disorder or trying to navigate the health care system. We offer recommendations for using Randall's narrative as a teaching tool, integrating CCM into clinical visits to help guide delivery of care and understand literacy levels, and finally future work should continue this line of work from an Entertainment-Education perspective.

Characterizing the Influence of Television Health Entertainment Narratives in Lay Populations: A Scoping Review

Objective

To conduct a scoping review of published literature examining the influence of health storylines from fictional television programs on viewers.

Data Source

We performed literature searches in Medline, PsycINFO, and Mass Media Complete in October 2021, and examined bibliographies of included articles and conducted forward searching using Web of Science with included articles.

Study Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria

Selected studies were required to be original research published in English, involve exposure to fictional television programming by individuals not in the medical field, and assess associations between exposure and health-related outcomes.

Data Extraction

Article screening and data abstraction were performed by two independent researchers using DistillerSR (Cohen’s κ range: .73-1.00).

Data Synthesis

We analyzed and qualitatively described the data using methods of scoping reviews described by PRISMA-ScR.

Results

Of 5,537 unique records identified, 165 met inclusion criteria. The most frequently studied program was ER (n = 22, 13.3%). Most studies had adult participants (n = 116, 70.3%) and used quantitative methods (n = 136, 82.4%). The most frequently examined health topics were sexual behavior (n = 28, 17.0%) and mental health (n = 28, 17.0%). Exposure had a positive influence on viewers’ health-related outcomes in 28.5% (n = 47) of studies.

Conclusion

Health storylines on fictional television influence viewers. Future research could address gaps identified in this review to further elucidate the influence of this programming on health promotion and disease prevention.