Other Titles
Coffee Shop Conversations: Using Educational Comics to Improve Health Literacy among Diverse Populations [Title Slide]
Other Titles
Utilizing Educational Graphic Narratives to Train Nurses on Trauma-Informed Care
Abstract
Purpose: Using graphic medicine narratives to disseminate health information has emerged as an innovative teaching strategy. Graphic medicine draws on interdisciplinary expertise to communicate complex health information through vibrant imagery and relatable character dialogue using comics or animation. This presentation will discuss three research projects in which graphic narratives were developed in English and Spanish and used to enhance health knowledge among individuals, families, and healthcare providers living on the U.S.-Mexico border. Health topics addressed included brain health promotion, self-care techniques for dementia caregivers, HPV vaccine uptake and cancer prevention, and trauma-informed care strategies for emergency department nurses. This presentation aims to share key study findings of participant reception to graphic narrative health education and discuss how nurses can use this teaching modality to enhance health literacy to support improved health outcomes among diverse populations.
Methods: Comic booklets depicting nurses teaching brain health and caregiver self-care strategies were presented in educational workshops, and comic booklets and animations about HPV vaccine uptake and cancer prevention were presented to the community. Focus group sessions were held to determine how participants perceived the comics as an educational aid. Another study focused on developing a graphic narrative tool targeting emergency department nurses, which subject matter experts assessed as an initial step in tool validation.
Results: Two studies identified themes of heightened ease of relatability to the comic characters and perceptions of improved understanding of the illustrated health concepts as expressed through colorful imagery and layperson dialogues. In the tool validation project, subject matter experts determined that four graphic narratives in the tool reflected the core values of trauma-informed care.
Conclusion: The findings of these studies build on evidence supporting the use of graphic narratives in health education across diverse populations and among healthcare providers. Graphic narrative interventions were perceived as an appealing educational method to enhance health knowledge. Educational comics can reflect the context of culture and language and provide nurses with an innovative way to improve health knowledge among peers and community members.
Notes
References:
1. Azizi F, Honarvar B, Molazem Z, Kazemi A, Tehranineshat B. (2023). Investigating EmergencyDepartment Nurses’ Educational Needs and Exploring Strategies to Meet Challenges Against Management ofThese Needs: A Qualitative Study. Shiraz E-Med J. 24(3):e122875. https://doi.org/10.5812/semj-122875.
2. Brand, A., Hornig, C., Crayen, C., Hamann, A., Martineck, S., Leistner, D. M., ... & Stangl, V. (2023). Medicalgraphics to improve patient understanding and anxiety in elderly and cognitively impaired patients scheduledfor transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Clinical Research in Cardiology, 1-11.https://doi.org/10.1007/s00392-023-02352-8
3. Czerwiec, M., Williams, I., Squier, S. M., Green, M. J., Myers, K. R., & Smith, S. T. (2020). Graphic medicinemanifesto. Penn State Press.
4. De Stefano, A., Rusciano, I., Moretti, V., Scavarda, A., Green, M. J., Wall, S., & Ratti, S. (2023). Graphicmedicine meets human anatomy: The potential role of comics in raising whole body donation awareness inItaly and beyond. A pilot study. Anatomical Sciences Education, 16(2), 209-223.https://doi.org/10.1002/ase.2232
5. Finbråten, H. S., Grønlien, H. K., Pettersen, K. S., Foss, C., & Guttersrud, Ø. (2022). "Nursing students'experiences with concept cartoons as an active learning strategy for developing conceptual understanding inanatomy and physiology: A mixed-method study". Nurse education in practice, 65, 103493.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2022.103493
6. Lesinska-Sawicka, M. (2023). Using graphic medicine in teaching multicultural nursing: a quasi-experimentalstudy. BMC Medical Education, 23(1), 255. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04223-2
7. Navarro-Martínez, O.; Silva, J.; Ibáñez-del Valle, V. (2023) Performance of Nursing Students with a GraphicNovel and a Collaborative Quiz Competition: A Quasi-Experimental Study. Educ. Sci. 13, 681.https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13070681
8. Ronan, L. K., & Czerwiec, M. K. (2020). A Novel Graphic Medicine Curriculum for Resident Physicians:Boosting Empathy and Communication through Comics. The Journal of medical humanities, 41(4), 573–578.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10912-020-09654-2
9. Said, N.B. & Chiang, V.C.L. (2020) The knowledge, skill competencies, and psychological preparedness ofnurses for disasters: a systematic review. International Emergency Nursing, 48, 100806.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ienj.2019.100806
Sigma Membership
Delta Kappa
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Health Equity, Social Determinants of Health, Interprofessional, Interdisciplinary, Teaching and Learning Strategies, Nursing Education, Advances in Education, Graphic Narrative Health Education, Diverse Populations
Recommended Citation
Jimenez, Sarah Y.; Martinez, Jacob; and Wholeben, Melissa, "Graphic Narratives on the US-Mexico Border: Educational Tools to Improve Health Literacy" (2025). Biennial Convention (CONV). 105.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/convention/2025/presentations_2025/105
Conference Name
48th Biennial Convention
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2025-11-21
Graphic Narratives on the US-Mexico Border: Educational Tools to Improve Health Literacy
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Purpose: Using graphic medicine narratives to disseminate health information has emerged as an innovative teaching strategy. Graphic medicine draws on interdisciplinary expertise to communicate complex health information through vibrant imagery and relatable character dialogue using comics or animation. This presentation will discuss three research projects in which graphic narratives were developed in English and Spanish and used to enhance health knowledge among individuals, families, and healthcare providers living on the U.S.-Mexico border. Health topics addressed included brain health promotion, self-care techniques for dementia caregivers, HPV vaccine uptake and cancer prevention, and trauma-informed care strategies for emergency department nurses. This presentation aims to share key study findings of participant reception to graphic narrative health education and discuss how nurses can use this teaching modality to enhance health literacy to support improved health outcomes among diverse populations.
Methods: Comic booklets depicting nurses teaching brain health and caregiver self-care strategies were presented in educational workshops, and comic booklets and animations about HPV vaccine uptake and cancer prevention were presented to the community. Focus group sessions were held to determine how participants perceived the comics as an educational aid. Another study focused on developing a graphic narrative tool targeting emergency department nurses, which subject matter experts assessed as an initial step in tool validation.
Results: Two studies identified themes of heightened ease of relatability to the comic characters and perceptions of improved understanding of the illustrated health concepts as expressed through colorful imagery and layperson dialogues. In the tool validation project, subject matter experts determined that four graphic narratives in the tool reflected the core values of trauma-informed care.
Conclusion: The findings of these studies build on evidence supporting the use of graphic narratives in health education across diverse populations and among healthcare providers. Graphic narrative interventions were perceived as an appealing educational method to enhance health knowledge. Educational comics can reflect the context of culture and language and provide nurses with an innovative way to improve health knowledge among peers and community members.
Description
The use of graphic narratives as a teaching strategy to enhance health literacy was determined to be an appealing method of conveying critical health information to diverse participants in three research studies conducted in a U.S.-Mexico border community in the areas of brain health and dementia caregiving, HPV vaccine uptake and cancer prevention and TIC communication. Nurses can use graphic narratives to enhance health literacy, which lays the groundwork for improved health outcomes.