Current Projects
Shared Stories, Shared Strength
Facilitated digital story screenings for SIDS bereavement support
Shared Stories, Shared Strength is a research project funded by the SIDS Calgary Society exploring how facilitated screenings of peer-created digital stories may support bereaved families following the sudden death of an infant due to SIDS. Led by Dr. Mike Lang and Dr. Kate Wong in the Faculty of Nursing, the project examines how storytelling, dialogue, and shared reflection can create opportunities for connection, validation, and meaning-making in the midst of profound and persistent grief.
About the projectThe project builds on an archive of digital stories created by parents who have experienced SIDS bereavement. Rather than focusing on the process of creating stories, this study explores what happens when stories are encountered collectively within carefully facilitated spaces. Through small, friends and family-based screenings held in participants’ homes, bereaved parents and their loved ones will watch curated digital stories together and participate in guided conversations supported by a trained digital storytelling facilitator and a registered counselor.
Grounded in the principles of the Health Humanities, narrative theory, and philosophical hermeneutics, the study understands stories not simply as information, but as relational encounters that can help people articulate experiences that are often difficult to express. The research will explore how these screenings shape emotional expression, family communication, feelings of isolation and validation, and the ongoing process of grief and healing over time.
Beyond contributing new knowledge to bereavement research and digital storytelling scholarship, the project aims to develop an innovative, low-cost, and relational model of story-based support that may be adapted across healthcare and community settings.