“Everybody Needs to Talk About Their Child”: A Descriptive Phenomenological Study of Bereaved Parents’ Experiences in Digital Storytelling

Abstract

Digital Storytelling (DS) is a narrative intervention that supports participants’ ability to find meaning in their life experiences – in this case, bereavement after child death. Thirteen (N = 13) bereaved parents engaged in a DS workshop in which they created a story about the death of their child. Using a descriptive phenomenological approach, researchers explored participants’ experience with child death via their completed digital stories. Results highlight connection as a pathway to meaning making for bereaved parents who participate in DS, specifically in regard to connection with other bereaved parents and connection with their deceased child via telling their story.