The University of Kentucky is using storytelling and photography as tools to strengthen communities and improve public health outcomes across the Commonwealth through an innovative engagement project.

The project, called "Building a Storytelling for Engagement Community of Practice," or SECoP, unites the UK Cooperative Extension Service, scholars and researchers, health departments, community developers, social services and arts-based organizations to strengthen community engagement.

Led by Margaret McGladrey, assistant professor of health management and policy at the University of Kentucky College of Public Health, and Nicole Breazeale, associate UK Extension professor of community development, SECoP was one of nine projects selected for funding by the UK Office of Land-grant Engagement in 2024.

"Storytelling is a great way to integrate community members' voices into existing community programming," McGladrey said. "We are creating opportunities for more personal storytelling, with deeper listening, to connect with what's really happening in real-life."

A key component uses Photovoice, a participatory research method that empowers people to share their perspectives and lived experiences through photographs and personal narratives. The Clark County Health Department has already integrated Photovoice into its community health assessment process, producing findings that sparked creation of an equity coalition addressing racial disparities in education.

In eastern Kentucky, rural physicians are using storytelling methods to improve patient care and train clinicians to listen closely to patients' concerns. In Louisville, advocates at the Center for Women and Families are using storytelling techniques to help survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence build deeper connections and facilitate healing.

The project launched with a two-day retreat attended by students and professionals in public health, Extension, local food systems, community and leadership development across Kentucky. Participants engaged in three storytelling practices designed to help them implement community-based storytelling into their public work.

McGladrey emphasized that storytelling democratizes research and engagement. "What storytelling allows us to do is really allow everyone who's got a phone, who's got a perspective on what's happening in their community, to participate," she said.