Why health stories?

Every health experience has a story. Through different creative media these stories can be effectively communicated and help to generate conversations and needed improvements to the provision of equitable health and health care in the Bay Area.

But, I'm not a creative person

StoryBridge believes that everyone has the ability to create. Our purpose is to encourage the creative spark that allows everyone to reflect on and share the complexity of health experiences relating to health disparities.

I'm not sure how to start

We have created a set of recommendations and tips that offer some guidance. You can take a look at these suggestions on our “Preparing a Submission” page.

Search

There are various ways to search the StoryBridge site. Using the “Search” function at the top and bottom of each page, users can enter key terms, titles, and media type to see content throughout the website. Key terms may be organized according to a disease or illness and issues that may relate to health disparities (i.e., “access” or “insurance”). Media type for submissions include written text, audio, video, and images. Submissions may also be tagged according to creative type (i.e., comics, poetry, photography, short story, dance). As we receive more submissions, our bank of key terms will expand.

Browse StoryBridge

The Browse StoryBridge page offers users an alternative way to look through our submissions. The page is organized to display “Featured Stories,” which highlight a particular health issue or topic that relates to health disparities. The “Other Stories” tab on the browse page, allows users to get a general overview of submissions. Users can click on “all topics” to either sort stories by most recent submission or to access the alphabetical directory of all stories.

See All Topics

“See all topics” is a feature users can access on the “Browse StoryBridge” page. This particular search feature allows users to look through an alphabetical directory of all submissions. These submissions include health issue or topic relating to health disparities, as well as media type, and creative type. Letters highlighted in orange indicate that there are submissions under that particular letter. Letters highlighted in gray indicate that there are currently no submissions under that letter. As submissions increase, the number of alphabetical submissions will increase.

Why a Discussion Forum

One of the foundational goals of StoryBridge is to promote dialogue between different stakeholders with insights to regional health disparities. Our discussion forum is designed as a safe place that provides one way to bring together stakeholders.

Discussions on What?

The discussion forum will center on creative submissions by users. When making a submission, users will have the option to indicate if they would like to include their submission in the discussion forum. Only submissions with the users consent will be included in the discussion forum. Discussions will be restricted to exploring the themes, issues, and other relevant considerations relating to health disparities.

Discussion Goals and Rules

To join the discussion forum, users will need to set up a secure online account with Flarum, the service we are currently using.

Some general rules:

1. Submissions included in the discussion forum will include a “join the discussion” button adjacent to the submission.
2. Users with logins with Flarum will be able to join a discussion for that particular submission.
3. Before posting your question or comment about a specific submission, check if anyone has asked already the question or made the comment and received a reply.
4. Stay on topic – Don’t post irrelevant links, comments, thoughts, or pictures.
5. Don’t type in ALL CAPS!
6. Refrain from comments that sound angry or sarcastic, even as a joke.
7. Always engage courteously with other users.
8. Respect the opinions of other discussion forum users. If you feel the need to disagree, do so respectfully. Acknowledge that others are entitled to have their own perspective on the submission and the issues it is related to.
9. Avoid jargon. This is a space for users of different backgrounds, make sure your comments are easy for a wide audience to understand.
10. Do not solicit or provide medical advice. This is strictly a communication platform related to health disparities, and should be used as such.
11. Be brief in your comments.
12. Check the most recent comments before you reply to an older comment, since the issue might have already been addressed or resolved.
13. Be forgiving. If another user makes a mistake or states something incorrectly, you are welcome to point this out. Don’t badger users for their mistakes, errors, or point of view.

Discussion Forums and Vulnerability

StoryBridge aims to offer a safe space for users. We acknowledge that much of the content shared on our site and discussed in the discussion forum will be vulnerable in nature. We take seriously creating an atmosphere on our site and discussion forum that protects vulnerable individuals and makes everyone comfortable.

The following will be grounds for terminating a user from our discussion forum:

• Hate speech of any kind is not tolerated on our discussion forum. This will not be tolerated and can lead to immediate suspension.
• There will be no  use of profanity on our discussion forum.  This will not be tolerated and can lead to immediate suspension.
• There will be no posts meant to offend or hurt any other member, in a manner which is offensive or inflammatory. This includes flaming or instigating arguments.
• Spamming is not permitted; please keep all your posts as constructive as possible.
• Pornography, warez, or any other illegal transactions may NOT be linked in any shape or form.
• This forum has the right to request alteration or deletion of any offensive post. If this is not done in a prompt manner, the Staff will delete the material themselves.
• Posts may be deleted for any reasons the forum administrators deem reasonable.
• Pictures may be posted as long as they are not explicit, offensive, or copyrighted.
• Advertisements, of any sort, are not permitted. This includes member names and links to commercial sites in Signatures, or in posts.
• Linking to hate, anti-Semitic, racist, pornography, warez, or other illegal sites is not permitted.
• Any impersonation of a user from these forums, in any mode of communication, is strictly prohibited and will result in a banning.

Violation of any of these rules can lead to a banning of the user from our Web Site and a deletion of their account. The consequences will be determined by the Staff on a case by case basis.

When posting you agree that the administrators and the moderators of this forum have the right to modify, delete, edit or close any topic, signature, account, or profile data at any time that they see fit. If you have any questions concerning this, please do not start a new thread, but rather private message to an administrator or moderator.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

What if I find a submission or a comment on the discussion forum offensive or inappropriate?

While we strive to make StoryBridge and its forum a safe space for all, we may miss submissions or discussion posts that contain offensive, derogatory, or inflammatory content. We welcome input from our users to ensure that we uphold our mission and values. Please contact our admin team via our contact page about submissions that are problematic. Please flag content on the discussion forum, using the available settings.

How do I access StoryBridge?

StoryBridge can be accessed through your desktop computer and through smart phone. We aim to build a compatible native app in the near future. Check this website for updates.

For any issues or problems that arise when uploading submissions, feel free to contact our team via our contact page.

Can I delete or update my submission

Users can at any time update or delete their submission. Contact our team for help.

Can I remove or edit demographic descriptions?

Any aspect of a submission can be edited or deleted based on a user’s request. This includes aspects of a submission and demographic descriptions. Users can at any time revive demographic descriptions and make their submission anonymous.

Once you complete your submission, it will be reviewed by our admin team. Submissions will first be reviewed for topical and content relevance of StoryBridge. Once we have determined the relevance of a submission, we will discuss the appropriateness of the submission. We then evaluate whether any editorial changes should be made. Editorial changes are kept to a minimum, but include recommendations for revisions or changes that will improve the quality of the submission. We send recommendations for revisions or changes to the user who has made the submission and work with them to ensure the submission matches our guidelines and adequately represents the user and their work.

Workshops

StoryBridge aims to build community and continue dialogue on the relevance of storytelling approaches to health disparities through regular arts-based workshops offered in different community venues. Workshops open to the public will be advertised on our News and Press page. Groups and institutions can contact us to arrange an arts-based workshop with our partner artists in the community. If you’re a local artist who wishes to teach a creative workshop with StoryBridge, please contact us!

Community Discussions

In addition to hosting workshops, we also host regular discussions between stakeholders that are open to the public. We strongly believe that dialogue through multiple channels and venues is critical to ensuring meaningful and lasting change to regional health disparities. These live discussions are also important for raising awareness on health disparities and challenging misinformation on the factors contributing to barriers to access of health and health care.

Multimedia Exhibits

We host quarterly multimedia exhibits of creative works from users and others in the Bay Area. Exhibits display in communities affected by health disparities, but also are arranged in communities that benefit from hearing about the ways in which others struggle to access health care and maintain their health. Exhibits will display in a range of venues, including community centers, galleries, and other partner arts spaces in the Bay Area.