“Graphic Medicine” as a Mental Health Information Resource: Insights from Comics Producers

By | February 8, 2016

Farthing, A., & Priego, E. (2016). ‘Graphic Medicine’ as a mental health information resource: insights from
comics producers. The Comics Grid 6(1). Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.16995/cg.74

ABSTRACT:

Recent literature suggests that a growing number of comics are being published on health-related topics, including aspects of mental health and social care (Williams 2012; Czerwiec et al 2015) and that comics are increasingly
being used in higher education settings as information resources. This article offers insights from comics creators and disseminators and explores the wider context of comics production and distribution (with a focus on ‘Graphic Medicine’ or health-related comics) as part of a larger study examination of the interface between these documents and potential academic audiences. Original data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with 15 participants actively involved in comics creation and production. Elements of domain analysis (Hjørland 2002) were used to obtain insights into attitudes to the creation, dissemination and use of mental health-related comics.