Evaluation of Arts-Based Storytelling Program in Adolescents With Diabetes

June 3, 2026 updated by: University of California, San Francisco

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate whether an arts-based storytelling and narrative medicine workshop series can improve social connection, illness identity, and psychological well-being in adolescents and young adults with chronic illness, specifically diabetes.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • Does participation in a narrative-based storytelling workshop improve social connectedness and peer support among adolescents and young adults with diabetes?
  • Does engagement in creative arts and reflective storytelling support identity formation, self-expression, and emotional well-being in this population?

Participants will be 16-25 years old and recruited through the UCSF Pediatric Diabetes Clinic. Individuals must be able to participate in group workshops and complete surveys and interviews related to the study.

Participants will:

  • Attend eight weekly workshops centered on storytelling, reflection, and creative expression
  • Engage in narrative medicine activities, including writing, storytelling, drawing, and facilitated reflection
  • Participate in group discussions focused on personal experiences with chronic illness
  • Complete pre- and post-intervention surveys assessing psychosocial outcomes such as social connectedness, illness identity, self-concept, and mental well-being
  • Participate in interviews and reflective exercises about their experiences in the program

This study aims to explore the role of narrative medicine and arts-based interventions in supporting adolescents and young adults with chronic illness and assess their potential benefits as a supplement to standard medical care.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

10

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • San Francisco, California, United States, 94107
        • University of California, San Francisco

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Participants must be patients at the UCSF Pediatric Diabetes Clinic
  • Participants must have a self-reported diagnosis of diabetes
  • Participants must be between 16-25 years old
  • The participant and/or caregiver(s) must be English-speaking

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Participants unable to attend the first session

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Arts-Based Storytelling Workshop Series
Participants in this study will take part in an eight-week arts-based storytelling workshop series designed to promote social connection, self-expression, illness identity development, and psychological well-being in adolescents and young adults with diabetes. Workshops will be conducted weekly and will include: -Close engagement with written, visual, or artistic materials centered on themes such as identity, resilience, relationships, uncertainty, growth, and coping with chronic disease - Facilitated group discussions and sharing intended to foster peer support, connection, emotional processing, and self-expression - Creative arts exercises, including writing, storytelling, drawing, or other forms of creative expression in response to structured prompts
Behavioral: Arts-Based Storytelling Workshop Series
The Arts-Based Storytelling Workshop Series is a structured eight-week behavioral intervention designed to enhance self-expression, social connection, emotional reflection, and psychological well-being in adolescents and young adults with diabetes. This intervention differs from traditional educational or counseling approaches by integrating creative expression, guided reflection, and group dialogue as therapeutic tools. Each weekly session includes: -Engagement with written, visual, or artistic prompts centered on themes such as identity, resilience, relationships, coping, uncertainty, and growth in the context of chronic illness -Facilitated group discussion and sharing designed to promote peer support, emotional processing, and a sense of community among participants - Creative exercises in response to structured prompts, including writing, storytelling, drawing, or other expressive activities that support personal reflection

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Participant retention and attendance
Time Frame: Throughout intervention (Weeks 1-8), assessed immediately post-intervention (Week 8)
Feasibility will be assessed by tracking the number of participants who attend each of the 8 weekly sessions, including overall completion of the program.
Throughout intervention (Weeks 1-8), assessed immediately post-intervention (Week 8)
Participant satisfaction
Time Frame: Immediately post-intervention (Week 8)
Acceptability will be assessed using post-intervention satisfaction questionnaires with 5-point Likert-scale items and semi-structured individual interviews. Measures will evaluate perceived relevance of workshop content, usefulness of creative prompts, quality of group discussion, and facilitation experience. Scale title: Intervention Satisfaction Questionnaire (ISQ) Minimum value: 1 (Strongly Disagree) Maximum value: 5 (Strongly Agree) Interpretation: Higher scores indicate greater satisfaction with the intervention.
Immediately post-intervention (Week 8)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Illness identity
Time Frame: Pre-intervention (Week 0) and post-intervention (Week 8)
Assessed using the Illness Identity Questionnaire, which evaluates how individuals integrate a chronic illness into their sense of self. Scores reflect different illness identity orientations, with higher scores indicating stronger endorsement of the corresponding identity state. Scale title: Illness Identity Questionnaire (IIQ) Minimum value: 1 (Strongly Disagree) Maximum value: 5 (Strongly Agree) Interpretation: Subscale scores reflect distinct illness identity states; higher scores indicate greater endorsement of that identity orientation
Pre-intervention (Week 0) and post-intervention (Week 8)
Social connectedness
Time Frame: Pre-intervention (Week 0) and post-intervention (Week 8)
Measured using the Social Connectedness Scale (SCS), which assesses perceived closeness to others and sense of belonging. Scale title: Social Connectedness Scale (SCS) Minimum value: 1 (Strongly Disagree) Maximum value: 6 (Strongly Agree) Interpretation: Higher scores indicate greater feelings of social connectedness and belonging.
Pre-intervention (Week 0) and post-intervention (Week 8)
Self-reported well-being
Time Frame: Pre-intervention (Week 0) and post-intervention (Week 8)
Measured using the WHO-5 is a self-report instrument measuring mental well-being. Scale title: Psychosocial functioning scale (PFQ) Minimum value: 0 (At no time) Maximum value: 5 (All of the time) Interpretation: Higher scores indicate greater well-being.
Pre-intervention (Week 0) and post-intervention (Week 8)
Self-esteem
Time Frame: Pre-intervention (Week 0) and post-intervention (Week 8)
Measured using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE), which assesses global self-worth, self-worth and self-acceptance. Scale Minimum value: 1 (Strongly agree) Maximum value: 4 (Strongly disagree) Interpretation: Higher total scores indicating more positive self-esteem.
Pre-intervention (Week 0) and post-intervention (Week 8)
Qualitative themes from interviews and group reflections
Time Frame: Pre-intervention (Week 0) and post-intervention (Week 8)
Semi-structured interviews will explore participant experiences of identity development, meaning-making, peer support, and emotional processing. Transcripts will be analyzed using thematic analysis to identify recurring patterns and narrative themes related to chronic illness experience and psychosocial adaptation.
Pre-intervention (Week 0) and post-intervention (Week 8)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of California, San Francisco

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Anoushka Sinha, MD, MS, University of California, San Francisco
  • Study Chair: Lina Lew, BS, University of California, San Francisco
  • Study Chair: Calis Lim, BS, Rosalind Franklin University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

June 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

September 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

September 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 29, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 29, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

June 4, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 5, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 3, 2026

Last Verified

June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 26-46489

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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