Narratives, and the worldviews they reinforce, shape what is possible for health and equity.
That’s why narrative change is essential to build a world where everyone can thrive. Narratives for Health is a national project launched in 2021 and co-led by HIP and County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (CHR&R), a program of University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. It was developed from the shared belief that structural change requires building transformative narrative power.
The project has brought over 3,000 health equity professionals into shared learning and practice to explore how narratives shape worldviews, influence decision-making, and have real material impacts on our collective health.
Through this work, Narratives for Health has built a national health equity narrative infrastructure: a network of practitioners and organizations aligned in their understanding of narrative as a powerful strategy for health equity and racial justice, connected through relationships, and resourced with the skills and tools to advance transformative narratives across their work.
Narratives for Health built public health’s capacity for transformative narrative practice via:
- Train-the-Facilitator Series Narratives for Health’s Train-the-Facilitator series equipped participants with facilitation guidance, tailored narrative curriculum, practical materials, and a shared transformative health equity narrative to lead narrative trainings and conversations with colleagues, partners, and communities.
- Narrative Cohorts Facilitated narrative cohorts supported participants to deepen their understanding of narrative change, identify harmful dominant narratives that block health equity, and explore how to embed transformative narratives in public health strategy, programs, and communications.
- Tools and Practice-Based Resources Narratives for Health’s tools support project partners across their work, including a jointly developed transformative narrative, training materials and facilitation guides, narrative application case examples, and narrative power frameworks and definitions.
- Community and Connection Project participants deepened their learning and relationships via a Community of Practice, peer exchange, and access to narrative strategy expertise and technical assistance.
- Evaluation and Research Narratives for Health provides evaluation and research services to better understand the process and impacts of narrative change.
Continued Engagement
HIP and CHR&R are continuing to explore ways to engage the Narratives for Health network in 2026 and beyond. HIP will activate the Narratives for Health network in organizing and campaigns, and to build the capacity of the public health field to understand and enact narrative change. CHR&R is exploring ways to sustain this work and continues to offer the Community of Practice in 2026. Contact us for ways we can support your work.
Tools and Guides for Narrative Practice
Narratives for Health built public health’s capacity for transformative narrative practice via:
- American University
- Boston University School of Public Health
- Capella University
- Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
- City University of New York
- Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
- Colorado School of Public Health
- Drexel University
- Emory University Rollins School of Public Health
- George Washington University
- Georgia State University
- Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health
- Howard University
- Iowa State University
- Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
- Northeastern University
- Northwestern University
- Oregon Health and Science University and Portland State University School of Public Health
- Rutgers University
- San Diego State University School of Public Health
- San Francisco State University
- San Jose State University
- Seattle University
- Tufts University
- Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
- University of California Berkeley School of Public Health
- University of California Davis
- University of California Los Angeles Fielding School of Public Health
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health
- University of Central Arkansas
- University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health
- University of Iowa College of Public Health
- University of Maryland School of Public Health
- University of Michigan School of Public Health
- Wayne State University
- University of Minnesota School of Public Health
- University of Minnesota Medical School
- University of Oxford
- University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health
- University of South Florida College of Public Health
- University of Southern California
- University of Victoria
- University of Washington School of Public Health
- University of Wisconsin Madison
- University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health
Narratives for Health built public health’s capacity for transformative narrative practice via:
- Train-the-Facilitator Series Narratives for Health’s Train-the-Facilitator series equipped participants with facilitation guidance, tailored narrative curriculum, practical materials, and a shared transformative health equity narrative to lead narrative trainings and conversations with colleagues, partners, and communities.
- Narrative Cohorts Facilitated narrative cohorts supported participants to deepen their understanding of narrative change, identify harmful dominant narratives that block health equity, and explore how to embed transformative narratives in public health strategy, programs, and communications.
- Tools and Practice-Based Resources Narratives for Health’s tools support project partners across their work, including a jointly developed transformative narrative, training materials and facilitation guides, narrative application case examples, and narrative power frameworks and definitions.
- Community and Connection Project participants deepened their learning and relationships via a Community of Practice, peer exchange, and access to narrative strategy expertise and technical assistance.
- Evaluation and Research Narratives for Health provides evaluation and research services to better understand the process and impacts of narrative change.
