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Can patient-to-patient storytelling, i.e., narrative communication, help to lower blood pressure? In this study of hypertensive black patients in Alabama, researchers identified patients in focus groups who clearly and persuasively described their experiences with hypertension; selected patients served as storytellers on DVDs and offered lessons about how to interact with physicians and how to achieve better medication adherence, diet, and exercise. The 231 study participants randomly received either the storytellers' DVDs or DVDs about general health issues unrelated to hypertension. Intervention patients spent an average of 88 minutes watching the storytellers' DVDs.
Patients in both groups who had controlled hypertension at baseline exhib…