Exploring the Potential of Comics for Science Communication: A Study on Conveying COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Information to Black Americans

This study examined the effectiveness of using comics to communicate scientific information on COVID-19 vaccine safety to Black Americans. Although the effects of comics on interest, recall, and information sharing intention were not significant compared to expository texts and infographics, comics featuring abstract, racially ambiguous characters facilitated greater learning among participants with lower knowledge of COVID-19 vaccines, as opposed to comics with realistic representations of Black individuals. Furthermore, the effects of comics varied depending on individuals' interest in comic reading. These findings highlight the potential of comics in science communication, but their design and target audience should be carefully considered.

Automated summary

This study investigated the use of comics for communicating scientific information on COVID-19 vaccine safety to Black Americans. The effects of comics on interest, recall, and information sharing intention were not significant compared to expository texts and infographics. However, comics featuring abstract, racially ambiguous characters facilitated better learning among participants with lower knowledge of COVID-19 vaccines, as opposed to comics with realistic representations of Black individuals. Additionally, the effects of comics varied depending on individuals' interest in comic reading.