How are comics related to medicine? Let's talk about Graphic Medicine!

Imagine that a family member, perhaps your mother or father, is in the hospital. They cannot express their pain or suffering in words. It is difficult for you to explain it to the doctor or nurse. At a time like this, how valuable would it be if you could draw a simple picture and show the situation? That is what we are talking about today, a topic that many people in the healthcare field still do not know about, but is very valuable.

The story that started with a drawing: What is Graphic Medicine?

The story begins with Sam Hester, an artist. Her mother, Jocelyn, has been suffering from Parkinson 's disease for a long time. Later, she began to show the first signs of dementia . Sometimes she even began to see things that seemed to be ghosts. One day while in the hospital, Sam noticed that her mother's body was leaning to one side, to be exact, to the left. Sam wanted to tell the nurses on night duty, but he had to go home to see his children, so he was in a hurry.

That's when he got the idea. He drew some simple drawings, wrote "Help Jocelyn" in his head, and taped them above his mother's bed. In one drawing, he drew his mother's body leaning forward, and circled the problematic spot. In another, he drew a very comfortable sleeping position with pillows, and wrote, "This is a very comfortable sleep!" To his surprise, when he looked at her the next morning, his mother was sleeping exactly as she had in the drawing, very comfortably.

From that day on, Sam took pictures to every doctor's appointment. He used pictures to express symptoms, problems, and feelings rather than words. This experience led him to a new field called "Graphic Medicine." The name was coined in 2007 by Dr. Ian Williams, a physician and cartoonist from England. Simply put, Graphic Medicine is where the medium of cartoons and healthcare come together.

This doesn't mean you have to be a professional artist. Anyone can use simple drawings to express their thoughts, feelings, and emotions. For example, if a child doesn't understand how to say "I have a burning sensation inside my body," they can draw a human figure with flames inside it. This will help the doctor understand the situation more easily.

How are cartoons useful in the health sector?

This method called Graphic Medicine helps us in many ways. It has spread from medical education to providing psychological relief to patients. Let's see what are its main benefits.

Special help for children and those with language barriers

This method is especially valuable for young children. It is difficult for children to express their pain, symptoms, and fears in words. But they are very good at drawing, and they love to do so. So they can easily show their feelings through a drawing. Also, cartoons can be used to educate a child about a minor surgery or a vaccination. This reduces the child's fear.

The same is true in cases where there is a language barrier. Imagine that you only speak Sinhala and the doctor only speaks Tamil. How much more valuable is a picture than words in such a situation? No matter what the patient's language, a picture can help you understand what is being said.

Giving the patient a voice

What happens most of the time when we go to see a doctor? The doctor explains a lot of things to us in medical jargon. At that time, we forget to ask the questions that come to our mind, and sometimes we feel scared. We feel like our story is not being listened to.

But through Graphic Medicine, the patient gets the opportunity to express their experiences, symptoms, and feelings in their own way. This gives the patient a sense of agency . Some studies have shown that although women complain about pain more than men, they receive less pain medication . By accurately depicting their symptoms in a graphic format, this can also help reduce such biases.

For example, writer Aubrey Hirsch created a comic book about her late diagnosis of an autoimmune disease. Instead of looking at her symptoms, she says, doctors mistakenly concluded that "a young woman must have an eating disorder." She was able to tell the world about this injustice through a comic book.

The future of graphic medicine

Pioneers of this method say that this is just the beginning. Their vision is that these drawings should be shared among different cultures around the world. For example, the symptoms of depression can vary from culture to culture. By studying the drawings drawn by patients in different countries, doctors can gain insight into the treatment of an immigrant from another country.

Also, this method should be taught not only to medical students, but to everyone in a hospital, starting from the receptionist. Then, from the moment a patient enters the hospital, the entire staff will be motivated to treat him or her with respect and understanding.

Sam Hester, who began the story, describes his experience as follows:

"When I looked at every drawing I made of my mother, I saw her symptoms. But more than that, I saw my mother. She lives in every word, every drawing. Those drawings are what still bind us together."

Graphic Medicine, Cartoons, Health Communication, Patient Care, Doctor-Patient Relationship, Symptoms, Mental Health