Comics to advance health equity for survivors of gender-based violence

Background:

This presentation will provide a case study of how a non-profit healthcare organization focused on serving survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) utilizes comics as a health equity tool in three contexts: patient care, training healthcare professionals, and raising awareness among the general public.

Program background:

PurpLE Health Foundation (PurpLE Health) is a non-profit organization committed to advancing health equity for survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) – including human trafficking, domestic violence, and sexual assault – through direct services, research, and training. Its affiliated medical practice is one of the few clinics in the country that provides free, long-term physical and mental healthcare for GBV survivors and their children. The patients served often face socioeconomic vulnerabilities rarely addressed in healthcare settings, including being without stable housing, food access, income, childcare access, and fear chronic threats of incarceration and interpersonal violence. The lessons learned in clinical care inform best practices for this population, that is then disseminated widely through PurpLE Health's customized trainings – which integrate comics– to healthcare systems and other key stakeholders.

Dr. Ravi, a family medicine physician and the CEO and co-founder of PurpLE Health, began utilizing simple stick-figure drawings on post-it notes to depict moments in patient care that were unexpected and challenging. Comics afforded a form of communication beyond spoken or written language that could bring people into the PurpLE world, in a meaningful way that was non-exploitative of the patients being served. In addition, they could be used as a tool for patients to both express and access essential aspects of their healthcare. As she went from informally sharing her drawings, to formally including them in applied practice presentations across the country, the drawings became a tool to highlight the frequently invisiblized healthcare issues facing GBV survivors, and began building a community of motivated and supportive healthcare professionals and stakeholders, who connected with the images. These connections yielded conversations about challenging issues physicians saw in their own practices when working with survivors, as well as the identification of new, effective ways to deliver care. This presentation will provide examples of comics that have been utilized in PurpLE Health’s care model, including those generated in clinical care settings, and ones created for teaching and advocacy purposes.

Evaluation Methods and Results:

Determining effectiveness of the approach of using comics as a communication tool will be discussed based on qualitative feedback and sharing of outputs created by participants.

Conclusions:

Comics can serve as an effective communication tool to advance health equity when serving marginalized communities, training healthcare professionals, and for advocacy among the general public.

Implications for research and/or practice:

Comics can be integrated into direct services and public health work focused on marginalized communities, as well as for those who seek to communicate health inequities with key stakeholders.