OxTalks is Changing
On 28th November OxTalks will move to the new Halo platform and will become 'Oxford Events' (full details are available on the Staff Gateway).
There will be an OxTalks freeze beginning on Friday 14th November. This means you will need to publish any of your known events to OxTalks by then as there will be no facility to publish or edit events in that fortnight. During the freeze, all events will be migrated to the new Oxford Events site. It will still be possible to view events on OxTalks during this time.
If you have any questions, please contact halo@digital.ox.ac.uk
Storytelling, a powerful tool, but does it help lead to behaviour change?
Within public health, storytelling – including digital storytelling (DST) – is frequently examined through a scientific lens, whether as a research method or an interventional tool for influencing behaviour change. However, DST is inherently an arts-based practice, grounded in the creation of authentic, 3–5-minute videos that convey personal experiences of illness. Its strength lies in the interpretation and emotional meaning generated through the storytelling process, both for the storyteller creators and for audiences. In my recent work, I examine the potential of DST to relate experiences of antibiotic resistance and antibiotic adversity to the lay public. Using qualitative data from a public screening and discussion of five digital stories, we explore the extent to which this arts-based, largely emotion-driven method can be situated within a behavioural science framework, and whether it may form part of a causal pathway towards reducing unnecessary antibiotic use among the general public.
This talk is part of the Behavioural Science and Complex Interventions course, which forms part of the Translational Health Sciences programme. This event is free and open to all.
Dr Becky McCall has been a medical journalist working for various global news outlets for 20 years. Most of her work has been in the written format, but she has also worked in radio and television. She has watched with interest as the patient voice has shifted from the margins to adopting an increasingly central role in medical discourse. Her recent PhD work challenged assumptions around public perceptions of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) through the creation of digital stories as an interventional tool to shape mindsets around the use of antibiotics. She has just been awarded a PhD from University College London. Some of her stories can be found at StoryBug.org.uk.
Date:
18 November 2025, 17:15
Venue:
Rewley House, 1-7 Wellington Square OX1 2JA
Venue Details:
Lecture Theatre and Online
Speaker:
Dr Becky McCall (University College London)
Organising department:
Department for Continuing Education
Organiser:
Robin Beachy (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address:
ths@conted.ox.ac.uk
Part of:
Translational Health Sciences
Booking required?:
Required
Booking url:
https://lifelong-learning.ox.ac.uk/events/view/storytelling-a-powerful-tool-but-does-it-help-lead-to-behaviour-change
Cost:
Free
Audience:
Public
Editor:
Robin Beachy
