Ashwal Gary, Thomas Alex
A health communication specialist and multimedia content producer based in Los Angeles and the co-founder of Booster Shot Media.
A pediatric allergist and immunologist based in Chicago and a co-founder of Booster Shot Media.
AMA J Ethics. 2018 Feb 1;20(1):134-140. doi: 10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.2.ecas1-1802.
Physicians who recommend patient education comics should consider that some patients might question the appropriateness of this format, especially in the US, where a dominant cultural view of comics is that they are juvenile and intended to be funny. In this case, Dr. S might have approached communication with Mrs. T differently, even without knowing her attitude toward comics as a format for delivering health information. Dr. S could acknowledge that though some people might not expect useful medical information in a comic format, it has unique aspects and new research on patient education comics shows that even adults are finding this medium to be effective, educational, and engaging. Offering comics to patients, however, does potentially require patient educators to invest additional time to review and assess their accuracy and relevance.
