P3C180: Qualitative Evaluation of the Use of Comics by Medical Providers in Improving Mental Health Literacy in Adolescents

Background: The prevalence of depression and anxiety among adolescents has increased at an alarming rate, warranting a greater need for early intervention. As they become more autonomous in their healthcare, it is vital that adolescents become well-informed about mental health and have adequate health literacy. Few studies have explored the current preventative measures being taken to improve adolescents’ mental health literacy (MHL). No studies have used comics as a potential intervention. Since comics are typically well-received by the younger generations for entertainment, comics may be a useful medium to fuse pertinent health information with visual storytelling. In this study, two comics will be evaluated by pediatric medical providers on the appropriateness, relevance, effectiveness, and feasibility of the materials.

Methods: This qualitative study will occur at an academic outpatient pediatric clinic in an urban midwestern city. Healthcare professionals including pediatricians, nurse practitioners, pediatric psychologists, and pediatric nurses will provide qualitative and quantitative feedback on the graphic content of the comics. The survey will help evaluate the comics’ effectiveness in communicating the four main MHL components of anxiety and depression. Using a survey, the strengths, weaknesses, areas of improvement, or concerns will be identified and addressed to improve the comic.

Results: This research is currently in progress. While we hypothesize that most of the feedback will support the notion that comics can help assess and improve MHL, specifically in terms of depression and anxiety, in adolescents, we will incorporate changes based on concerns or other formative feedback.

Conclusion: The main goal is to address whether providers believe these comics are an effective and appropriate medium in improving adolescent patients’ MHL about depression and anxiety. Future research will assess adolescent and parent acceptance and interest in such comics. Results may support incorporating such interventions into practice and further utilizing this medium when creating health education materials for the pediatric population. Given the significant burden of mental health disorders in the adolescent population and the unique development of autonomy of this age group, novel and effective methods of improving health literacy are needed desperately. The qualitative and quantitative feedback obtained from participating medical providers will also provide helpful insights into future content developed to educate the adolescent population on other complex health topics.