[8] Oral presentation

[8-15] USC+SSG: Designing a sustainable community partnership for community-based narrative medicine innovation and practice in Los Angeles

*Jonathan C Chou¹, Ianthe RM Schepel², Karwai Ng³, Pamela B Schaff⁴, Erika Wright⁴, Suad Kapetanovic⁴, Trang Hoang⁵, Hala Masri⁵, Phuong Tang⁵, Mark Albright⁵ (1. MGH/McLean Adult Psychiatry Residency Program(United States of America), 2. Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust(UK), 3. University College London(UK), 4. Keck School of Medicine of USC(United States of America), 5. Special Service for Groups (SSG)(United States of America))

Presentation language：English

Background: There has been limited exploration of the role narrative medicine could play in addressing the needs of vulnerable communities. In 2018-2019, we established a partnership between the new Master of Science in Narrative Medicine program at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and the nonprofit organization Special Service for Groups (SSG), which oversees multiple community health agencies in the greater Los Angeles area. Methods: Development of the partnership emphasized 1) adaptation of traditional narrative medicine methods for community settings, 2) pilot implementation of novel narrative medicine methods specific to individual community health agencies, and 3) systems-level processes for ongoing evaluation of the partnership. A service design approach ensured all stakeholders’ perspectives were incorporated into the design of the partnership. Results: Insights from the service design project fell into two categories: those related to innovating community-based narrative medicine methods and those related to designing narrative medicine-centered community partnerships. A preliminary service blueprint and design toolkit were shared with stakeholders. Discussion: Engaging community-based collaborators in narrative medicine innovation could significantly impact the field of narrative medicine and community health. As an applied health humanities discipline, narrative medicine is uniquely suited for establishing partnerships between academic medical centers and community-based organizations.