Using Graphic Medicine to Bring Underrepresented Voices Forward Through Public Library Health Literacy Programs

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: New Directions in Learning Environments Research (San Diego)

Abstract

This paper focuses on the educational potential inherent in graphic medicine, a growing area of study and practice, especially when enacted in an informal learning environment. Evidence comes from a comparative case study of a health literacy program enacted in three different public libraries. Members of underserved communities were invited to participate in an 8-week comics program that included discussions of two graphic novel narratives of health and illness, followed by a brief course in comics creation in which participants create their own narrative of a health experience. Using graphic medicine in informal learning environments can make visible the health perspectives and experiences of underserved groups that need to be addressed in creating a more equitable healthcare system.

Authors

• Sarah Amber Evans, University of North Texas

• Lacy Noel Molina, University of North Texas