Beyond a Scientific Article: Creativity in Global Health research dissemination
Samir Gouin, undergraduate student majoring in Neuroscience at McGill University
As we strive towards a Global Health 4.0, where research is done and led in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs), it is imperative to include local populations in the research process and results. A scientific article, dense with ANOVAs, p-values and terms like DALYS and HALEs, remains inaccessible for the majority of the population, often including the ones who stand to benefit the most from the research. This is why emphasis must be placed on inclusion rather than instruction.
Despite the barriers of research in a pandemic era, I was fortunate to work on the Namibia Children’s Worlds Project this past summer. The project had administered a school-based survey to more than 2000 grade 4 and 6 students in the Khomas region. Throughout the process of working on the final survey report, my supervisors encouraged me to step out of my academic mindset and write for an audience that would benefit from the research results. We sidestepped scientific jargon and complex statistical measures to focus on clear and accessible dissemination of the findings. Despite these efforts, a report or a journal article would still be inaccessible to young children, a focal point of the research.
Namibia Children’s Worlds Comic Illustrations by Claudia Porteros
By coordinating with a local youth magazine and in-country partners, we were able to develop a culturally responsive comic that highlighted some of the integral findings from the survey. When designing the comic, we did our best to incorporate our research results in ways that did not stereotype any group or pass on any judgement. We told the story of three students—Julia, Lukas, and Maria, to highlight the differences in the lives of school-going children. While a peer at school may don the same uniform and struggle with the same homework, everyone arrives from a different home. By using a creative, arts-based approach, and inviting readers to reflect on the story through questions and an open-ended story, we hope to foster a discussion among children and encourage compassion. This may seem frivolous, but I believe the practice of inclusivity at all levels is integral to redefining global health research. While this may be more difficult in particular areas of global health research, leveraging creative dissemination tools to improve research accessibility should be part of the research framework, co-developed in multidisciplinary teams and with local partners, and integrated throughout the research cycle.
Open-ended questions to encourage discussion
About the Author
Samir is an undergraduate student at McGill university majoring in Neuroscience. He is a Global Health Scholar and is passionate about investigating how well-being differs across the world. Since a young age, he has been involved in advocacy, predominately regarding healthcare disparities for the hard of hearing community, and he hopes to continue learning about the ways he can be an effective ally.