Facing visual illiteracy in South African health education: a pilot study

Medical and health educators in South Africa are facing many problems. These are caused by the diverse communication characteristics and socioeconomic, as well as educational, differences of its communities. Visual literacy is often ignored when audiovisual media are used in medical and health education. Consequently, communication and education fail because some target groups, e.g. illiterate patients from rural areas, are unable to interpret visual messages correctly. This study determined to what extent illiterate female patients were able to interpret instructional illustrations on breast feeding. Findings indicate that visual literacy is a key factor in effective medical and health education. There was a distinct variation in the visual literacy skills of this particular target group. The implication is that extreme care must be taken when visual materials are designed for health education in South Africa.