Narrative therapy to relieve stigma in oral cancer patients: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract Aims and objectives This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of narrative therapy in relieving stigma in oral cancer patients who underwent major surgical treatment. Background Health‐related stigma compromises mental health and life quality in people with physical or mental abnormalities. Narrative therapy has been implemented to overcome stigma among populations in a diversity of disease states. However, the effectiveness of narrative therapy in relieving stigma among patients with oral cancer is not known. Design This study was a randomized controlled trial, in which 100 oral cancer patients were selected and randomly assigned to the ‘narrative therapy’ group, who received narrative therapy treatment in addition to standard care, and the ‘control’ group, who was provided standard care only. Methods This research combined measurement of several questionnaires to evaluate stigma. Analysis of variance and paired t tests were employed for data analysis. Results Findings in this study demonstrated that narrative therapy treatment effectively relieved oral cancer patients' sense of shame, reducing overall stigma and significantly improving self‐esteem and social relationships. Conclusions Narrative therapy was demonstrated to be a promising therapeutic intervention for stigma relief in oral cancer patients.