A Novel tool for Health Literacy: Using Comic Books to Combat Childhood Obesity

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Literacy
• Pediatrics

Background:

• Childhood obesity is a significant public health concern.
• Effective health literacy projects are needed to engage families in healthy decision-making.
• Existing resources may not adequately reach or engage children and parents on this topic.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe an award-funded project that developed a comic book to promote healthy lifestyle choices among children and parents.
• To outline the collaborative process between health sciences faculty and a university art department.
• To detail the dissemination strategies for both print and online versions of the educational comic book.

Main Methods:

• Faculty from LSU Health Shreveport's Health Sciences Library and Department of Pediatrics designed the comic book content.
• A student artist from LSU-Shreveport was recruited to illustrate the comic book.
• Promotional items were designed to support the community-wide distribution of the comic book.

Main Results:

• An award-funded project successfully created a comic book resource.
• Collaboration facilitated the development and illustration of engaging educational material.
• Community outreach utilized print and online versions of the comic book for broad accessibility.

Conclusions:

• Comic books can be an effective tool for health literacy education in childhood obesity prevention.
• Interdisciplinary collaboration can enhance the development of engaging health education resources.
• Community-based dissemination strategies are crucial for maximizing the impact of health promotion projects.