How graphic medicine humanizes disease and teaches empathy through comics

sandra ruiz

Puertollano (Ciudad Real), March 24 (EFE). – Graphic medicine, led by health professionals such as Alejandro Martínez, resident of Puertollano and pediatrician at the Almodovar del Campo Health Center (Ciudad Real), is known for its ability to humanize illness. And teach empathy through the power of comics.

Martínez, recently appointed vice president of the Society of Graphic Medicine, shares his passion for the method, which he considers a “valuable teaching tool for both health professionals and patients,” he said in a statement to EFE.

The Graphic Medicine movement began in 2007 under the leadership of English doctor Ian Williams, who proposed a connection between comics and health, leading to the emergence of the international group Graphic Medicine.

In 2016, Spanish doctor Mónica Lanlanda initiated contact through social networks with health professionals interested in illustration and comics, which culminated in the formation of a multidisciplinary group composed of doctors, nurses and other health professionals.

This group, to which Alejandro Martínez belongs, has a shared passion for comics and the use of images in the health field, and aims to review comics focused on health issues, analyzing them from a health perspective and pointing out their relevance to patients. Is responsible for. caregivers

The term “graphic medicine” refers to the use of comics, graphic novels and infographics, visual media that are used as practical health communication tools for professionals and patients.

“Comic books and graphic novels have the potential to help professionals understand, increase empathy, and observe from a unique perspective the experience of living with the disease,” the pediatrician said.

Furthermore, they are effective tools for health promotion to patients and “sharing experiences between people with diseases and their families”.

Despite initial prejudices that comics were classified as a non-serious medium, internationally renowned medical publications such as The Lancet and the British Medical Journal have recognized their usefulness, even publishing articles in vignette format. Also included in.

After a few months of work, the Graphic Medicine team organized the first Spanish Congress dedicated to this discipline in 2018, with the aim of giving greater visibility to this communication tool beyond social networks.

Innovating on the traditional format of medical conferences, the event sought to explore the unique language of comics and their history while also showing the need for new communication tools in the healthcare field.

“Despite the challenges, the enthusiastic response from the speakers demonstrated a solid start for this pioneering event, now in its third edition,” said the vice-president of the Graphic Medical Society, an entity which since its beginning this March has been a cultural The association became a scientific society.

Graphic Medicine has its own master’s degree taught by the International University of Andalusia (UNIA), a unique degree within the Spanish postgraduate offer that trains health professionals, sociologists, journalists or graphic designers in the use of comics, novel graphics or illustration. Does it. A health promotion tool.

This Master’s degree, in its third edition, offers students the opportunity to learn about comics as a communication resource and to acquire skills in the creation and analysis of graphic comics as well as the use of graphic comics created by others .

The UNIA initiative represents an important advance in the training and recognition of Graphic Medicine in Spain, providing an academic space to explore its potential in different professional fields. efe

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