Narrating Digital Access, Trauma, and Disability Through Comics and Image Description in Denmark.

Area of Science:

• Medical Anthropology
• Disability Studies
• Visual Culture

Background:

• Sequential art, like comics, offers an accessible medium for knowledge co-production.
• Visual studies often lack accessibility for individuals with visual impairments.
• Integrating image description practices is crucial for inclusive visual research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the co-production of knowledge on trauma and disability using comics and image descriptions.
• To propose a method for medical anthropology that embraces disability expertise.
• To enhance accessibility in visual studies within anthropological research.

Main Methods:

• Collaborative creation of comics and image descriptions with service users experiencing digital access, trauma, and disability.
• Analysis of insights derived from both drawing comics and describing images.
• Application of these methods within a medical anthropology framework.

Main Results:

• Comics and image descriptions facilitated co-production of knowledge on lived experiences of trauma and disability.
• The process highlighted the value of integrating disability expertise into research design.
• The method proved effective in building inclusive research collaborations.

Conclusions:

• Sequential art and image description offer a powerful, accessible methodology for collaborative research in medical anthropology.
• Embracing disability expertise is essential for creating equitable and representative research.
• This approach can foster deeper understanding and co-production of knowledge on sensitive topics like trauma and disability.