While conducting my research on patient and provider engagement in healthcare delivery changes, I noticed that journals, especially those focusing on patient experiences, are increasingly sharing personal stories. These narratives use engaging, accessible language, discussing both challenges and triumphs in the healthcare system. For instance, the Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences features medical radiation science narratives, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) publishes "BMJ Opinion," and the Patient Experience Journal has a "Personal Narratives" section. These stories are often peer-reviewed rather than blog posts.

Why are stories important? They are a powerful source of learning and understanding, providing authentic, unfiltered insights into people's experiences. Stories allow individuals to be vulnerable and honest, free from the biases that can influence formal research. In my conversations with people living with Long COVID and Diabetes, I found that they wanted to share their stories more than anything else. ( Shiner, 2023)

As Anne Shiner eloquently puts it in her paper:

"In a nutshell, life with a child with Down syndrome is fantastic and, to quote a well-known social media campaign, ‘#Iwouldn’tchangeathing’. However, that is not completely true. I would change something, primarily improving education around Down syndrome. As with most education, storytelling is often the foundation of learning. I will share some of our true-life stories of navigating several professional services to enlighten healthcare professionals about life with Down syndrome."

For years, people have shared their health journeys and challenges on social media, learning from each other how to navigate their struggles. Those with lived experiences understand the gaps and find daily solutions to their problems. Whether through medical journals, blogs, forums, or social media, people continuously tell their stories, creating movements or simply helping others. These narratives are invaluable resources for policymakers, researchers, healthcare agencies, and marketers to learn and improve.

All that said, the story plays a significant role and is the main feature of the provotype, a deliverable of this research, focusing on the power of narratives. In the context of "Storify," "fy'' is a playful suffix that turns the word "story" into a verb, implying the action of creating, sharing, or curating stories. It suggests transforming events, ideas, or information into a narrative form. Essentially, "Storify'' means to compile stories. It is based on the idea that while a single story might be an anecdote, 200 stories represent a signal for necessary change.