2024-03-24 10:41:23
Sandra Ruiz
Puertollano (Ciudad Real), March 24 (EFE).- Graphic medicine led by health professionals such as Alejandro Martínez, a resident of Puertollano and pediatrician at the Almodóvar del Campo health center (Ciudad Real), stands out 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 this method, which he considers a “valuable teaching tool for both health professionals and patients,” he stated in statements to EFE.
The graphic medicine movement had its beginnings in 2007, led by the English doctor Ian Williams, who proposed a connection between comics and health, giving rise to the international group Graphic Medicine.
In 2016, the Spanish doctor Mónica Lanlanda began contacts through social networks with health professionals interested in illustration and comics, which culminated in the formation of a multidisciplinary group, made up 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 is responsible for reviewing comics focused on health issues, analyzing them from a health perspective and pointing out their relevance for patients and 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 ability to allow professionals to understand the experience of living with an illness from a unique perspective, increasing empathy and the ability to observe,” said the pediatrician.
In addition, they are effective tools for health dissemination aimed at patients and for “sharing experiences between people with illnesses and their families.”
Despite initial prejudices that classified comics as a non-serious medium, internationally renowned medical publications such as The Lancet and the British Medical Journal have recognized their usefulness, even incorporating articles in vignette format.
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 show the need for new communication tools in the healthcare field, as well as explore the unique language of comics and their history.
“Despite the challenges, the enthusiastic response of the speakers demonstrated a solid start for this pioneering event, which is now in its third edition,” said the vice president of the Graphic Medical Society, an entity that since the beginning of this month of March It has gone from being a cultural association to a scientific society.
There is its own master’s degree in graphic medicine 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, novels graphics or illustrations as a health dissemination tool.
This master’s degree, in its third edition, offers students the opportunity to learn about comics as a communication resource and acquire skills for the creation and analysis of graphic medicine, as well as for the use of graphic medicine created by others.
The UNIA initiative represents a significant advance in the training and recognition of graphic medicine in Spain, offering an academic space to explore its potential in various professional fields. EFE
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