NEA grant creates Narrative Medicine Research Lab at Akron Children’s
04-24-2026 (Akron, Ohio)
Akron Children’s has received a $300,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to create a research lab dedicated to studying narrative medicine interventions with children and young adults, their parents, and pediatric health professionals.
Akron Children’s was the first children’s hospital in the country with a narrative medicine program to employ full-time narrative medicine specialists and the first to receive a NEA Research Lab grant for narrative medicine.
The grant, covering two and half years, will establish Akron Children’s Narrative Medicine Research Lab, creating the infrastructure to allow the staff to expand upon the research activities they have been pursuing for the past seven years.
Narrative medicine is a relatively new health care discipline that helps patients and health professionals tell and listen to unique illness stories through reading and discussion of a poem, piece of prose, or visual art followed by writing and sharing of one’s reflection.
Akron Children’s began an arts and expressive therapy program focused on the healing powers of art, music, and dance in 2012 under the direction of Dr. Sarah Friebert, founder of the Haslinger Family Pediatric Palliative Care Center and the Expressive Therapy Center. Expanding upon that, Dr. Friebert invited Nicole Robinson, then at Kent State University, to offer narrative medicine services for Haslinger Center patients and staff and she was hired in 2019 to build a program.
The preliminary findings of research at Akron Children’s and other institutions suggest narrative medicine can help patients, especially those with chronic and complex illnesses. It can also help health care providers reconnect with the human side of medicine while reducing feelings of burnout.
Over the years, Robinson; Dr. Friebert; research scientist Dr. Daniel Grossoehme; Dr. Julie Aultman, dean of College of Graduate Studies and director of Medical Ethics and Humanities at Northeast Ohio Medical University; and Dr. Michael Forbes, chief academic officer; have studied the benefits of Robinson’s narrative medicine interventions at Akron Children’s. For example, one of the first studies analyzed poems and prose written by patients to identify recurring emotional, psychological, and existential themes with a focus on understanding how storytelling supports meaning-making and coping in young patients facing serious illness.
The research questions central to the Akron Children’s researchers moving forward are:
- What are the health and wellness benefits for children, young adults, their families, and health professionals who engage with narrative medicine in pediatric health care?
- How do frequency, duration, and type of narrative medicine intervention affect outcomes?
“Receiving the NEA Research Lab grant represents a pivotal milestone for narrative medicine at Akron Children’s and nationwide,” said Robinson. “It enables us to move beyond demonstrating feasibility and toward understanding health and wellness benefits for children, families, and health professionals. With support from the NEA, we can help codify narrative medicine practice and interventions and equip other health systems with the framework to implement high-quality programs that support all who seek and deliver health care.”
“The arts play a powerful role in Americans’ lives, and these NEA research grantees will help show that impact,” said Mary Anne Carter, NEA chairman. “Their work highlights the importance of this research and the Arts Endowment’s continued commitment to the field.”
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About the National Endowment for the Arts
Established by Congress, the National Endowment for the Arts is an independent federal agency that is the largest funder of the arts and arts education in communities nationwide and a catalyst of public and private support for the arts. By advancing opportunities for arts participation and practice, the NEA fosters and sustains and environment in which the arts benefit everyone in the United States. To learn more, visit arts.gov.
About Akron Children’s
Akron Children’s is an independent, nonprofit pediatric health care system that has been caring for children since 1890. With two hospital campuses, seven regional health centers and more than 50 primary and specialty care locations throughout Ohio, it is the only health care system in northeast Ohio fully dedicated to pediatric care. Its vast network of Akron Children’s Pediatrics offices offers convenient access to expert pediatric primary care for patients from infancy through young adulthood. From School-Based Health Care to Quick Care Online virtual visits and Akron Children’s Anywhere app, Akron Children’s makes it easy for today’s busy families to find the high-quality care they need. In 2024, the health care system provided nearly 1.5 million patient encounters and employed more than 7,300 employees. Learn more at akronchildrens.org.
