Comics in public health: the sociocultural and cognitive influence of narrative on health behaviours

Dobbins, Sarah

doi:10.1080/21504857.2015.1127844

Cited by 16 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…In terms of content, interestingly, neither the motivational quote (emotional support) nor the influencer (network support) received the least favorable evaluations, unlike the comic (informational support). These results contradict previous research findings that attest the ability of comics to improve the involvement with health information [82] through character identification [51] and "narratives of lived experiences" [61]. More positive evaluations of the influencer post suggest that pictures that tell stories (and feature influencers) allow the affected individuals to deal better with their experiences and increase the acceptance of mental health issues [63].…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 86%

“…The potentials of comics have already been discussed in a variety of studies, some of which have also been conducted in the health communication context. Although their potential to induce behavioral changes is often neglected [57,60], comics' "psychologi-cal and cognitive effects of embodiment and narrative (can translate) lived experiences into narratives" [61] (p. 35), an aspect that has been found to benefit both anti-stigma communication and mental health communication [56,62,63].…”

Section: Comicmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Picturing Mental Health on Instagram: Insights from a Quantitative Study Using Different Content Formats

Koinig

2022

IJERPH

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Background: COVID-19 has changed individual lives to the core. Through national curfews and social distancing, individuals’ social lives changed and led to increased levels of stress and mental health problems. As another consequence, communication, especially among young people, has shifted to social networking sites, where particularly young adults sought help for their mental health problems. In recent years, Instagram has received recognition for its health-enhancing potentials. On this social networking site, more than 1 billion users worldwide post 500 million stories and images per day. Methods: During COVID-19, increasing mental health incidences were reported throughout the world, and have led mental health influencers to gain in relevance. The proposed study is based on a quantitative survey. In order to test how different content formats utilized by mental health influencers —motivational quotes, comics, or influencer posts—are evaluated by Instagram users, a cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted in April 2021. Data collection was based on convenience sampling. In total, 532 Austrian respondents between 16 and 34 years of age participated in the survey. Results: Overall, the content that received the most favorable evaluations were both the motivational quote (M = 4.23) and the influencer post (M = 4.12), while the comics scored lower in terms of evaluations (M = 3.72). Conclusions: Respondents’ preference of content suggests that individuals seek out content that boosts their esteem or content with a “human touch”. Explanations as to why the selected content formats were preferred over the other formats are offered alongside a future research outlook.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 86%

Section: Comicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Picturing Mental Health on Instagram: Insights from a Quantitative Study Using Different Content Formats

Koinig

2022

IJERPH

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“…According to a field survey done for WHO, it is primarily mythological stories and stories on cops and robbers that are the most preferred by the audience. 26 26 See http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/47611/1/WHF_1986_7(3)_p279-280.pdf (last accessed on 2 November 2017). According to Dobbins (2015), ‘…evidence shows that the dominant paradigm in health—presenting facts and appeals to logic—is less effective than appealing to emotion in the form of case studies, testimonials and stories communicated through narrative’. (Dobbins 2015: 39).…”

Section: Conclusion—material Social and Experiential Realitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…26 26 See http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/47611/1/WHF_1986_7(3)_p279-280.pdf (last accessed on 2 November 2017). According to Dobbins (2015), ‘…evidence shows that the dominant paradigm in health—presenting facts and appeals to logic—is less effective than appealing to emotion in the form of case studies, testimonials and stories communicated through narrative’. (Dobbins 2015: 39). There was a story that was separate from the information being imparted, but at the same time, the information served as a tool to construct the plot in which mosquitoes are vanquished.…”

Section: Conclusion—material Social and Experiential Realitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Image, Text and Malaria: Creative Production of a Comic Book

Kumari

2017

Society and Culture in South Asia

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The comics medium is a powerful tool for communication. It employs the language of both text and images. The placement, interrelationship and transition of panels, speech balloons, gutters, lines, script and picture plane are some of the elements that evoke a sense of time and place in comics. The success of comics as an effective medium depends on experiences common to both the creator and audience. In the light of this understanding of the language of comics, and theorisation regarding the ‘production’ of culture, this article analyses the creation procedure of a comic book made to communicate health messages among schoolchildren under a health project run by the directorate of Vector Borne Disease Control Programme in India. Designing Communications 2 2 Name changed. I have used pseudo names for all the private institutes and professionals. , a private agency contracted by the government for its public health programmes, became the site for this production process. The production involved various ‘actants’ 3 3 A. J. Greimas (1983) developed the actantial model where he talked about six actants or facets that define a narrative algorithm. These actants include the subject, the object, the sender, the receiver, the helper and the opponent. This model was further used by Bruno Latour and others in the development of actor–network theory (widely known as ANT) where the focus shifted from action to systems or networks. from the field. It was also constrained by the limits set by the ‘genre’, hence a specific art world. I call the production of such a comic book a ‘creative production’ because it involves a dynamic interplay between the artists’ creativity and the bureaucratic boundaries of the profession of advertising. Following Howard Becker’s idea that artistic production is collective, I describe the detailed contribution of major actors involved in the process of comic book production.

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“…Readers interested in more comprehensive reviews of relevant research can seek out additional resources (i.e., Czerwiec et al, 2015;Dobbins, 2016;Jee & Anggoro, 2012;Williams, 2012). For some examples of graphic medicine content appearing in academic journals, I would suggest readers consider reading "Annals of Graphic Medicine" found within Annals of Internal Medicine (see http://www.annals.org/GraphicMedicine).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Comics to Communicate About Health: An Introduction to the Symposium on Visual Narratives and Graphic Medicine

King

2016

Health Communication

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Health communication practitioners and researchers benefit from investigating novel methods for conveying information to a variety of relevant audiences (i.e., the public, health care professionals). Research has demonstrated the utility of using narratives to communicate about health (see, e.g., Green, 2006;Hinyard & Kreuter, 2007) and that using visual messaging elements (i.e., photos, illustrations, graphical displays) can be beneficial in communicating complex information (see, e.g., Houts, Doak, Doak, & Loscalzo, 2006). Allied fields, like medical education and public health, have started to pursue more systematic investigation of the intersection of narratives and visualization to communicate about health. The term "graphic medicine" (see Czerwiec et al., 2015;Green, 2010;Williams, 2012) has been coined by a collective of interested researchers, clinicians, and artists to capture this new subfield of research and practice.The visual narratives most relevant to the study of graphic medicine are comics in their many forms. While explaining how people process comics or differentiating exactly what constitutes a visual narrative, comic, or graphic novel is beyond the scope of this symposium introduction, 1 graphic medicine examines the use of sequential (but not always narratively linear) visual storytelling to share health-related experiences and information. 2 Czerwiec and colleagues (2015) define graphic medicine as "the intersection of the medium of comics and the discourse of health … [combining] the principles of narrative medicine with an exploration of the visual systems of comic art, interrogating the representation of physical and emotional signs and symptoms within the medium" (p. 1).While the practice and study of graphic medicine has been occurring for well over a decade-considerably longer if one retroactively categorizes comics and illustrations about health, wellness, and medicine as "graphic medicine"-research supporting its utility and effectiveness as a communicative tool or as a creative intervention itself is still developing. This symposium aims to add to that growing scholarly literature surrounding graphic medicine by providing a starting point for health communication researchers and scholars to consider the utility of such visual narratives within existing frameworks and paradigms. The symposium features four articles that offer an overview and a starting point for sorting out ways for health communication to contribute to the broad area of work called graphic medicine.

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Comics in public health: the sociocultural and cognitive influence of narrative on health behaviours

Cited by 16 publications

References 20 publications

Picturing Mental Health on Instagram: Insights from a Quantitative Study Using Different Content Formats

Picturing Mental Health on Instagram: Insights from a Quantitative Study Using Different Content Formats

Image, Text and Malaria: Creative Production of a Comic Book

Using Comics to Communicate About Health: An Introduction to the Symposium on Visual Narratives and Graphic Medicine

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