Recap: Grand Rounds Exhibition of EUA Graphics by Setareh Setayesh

 

Exhibition of EUA Graphics in the Lobby of the Chan Centre for Family Health Education

 

On Friday, May 17th, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute (BCCHR) hosted an exhibition of graphic artwork illustrating the experiences of neurodivergent children and their families as they face challenges in accessing medical services. The artwork is part of a collaborative project between Paediatrician Dr. Anamaria Richardson and UBC Comics Studies Cluster Director Dr. Biz Nijdam. The comics were displayed in the Chieng Family Atrium of BCCHR during the weekly Grand Rounds, along with presentations from Dr. Richardson and Dr. Nijdam, Setareh Setayesh, an undergraduate student working on the project, and Rebecca “Bex” Burgess, a freelance comic artist and illustrator.

 

The project, entitled “Exams Under Anaesthesia (EUA) Graphics: Equity and Neurodiversity in the Operating Room”, recruited 9 cartoonists to produce short comics based on interviews with parents of neurodivergent children who undergo Exams Under Anaesthesia (EUA). EUA are procedures where sedation is used to facilitate necessary medical interventions, but the process can be very traumatic. Youth who undergo such procedures may struggle to communicate verbally, and the current medical systems seem ill-equipped to respond to the differing needs of them and their family.

 

Graphic art was sought out as a medium for examining the parent interviews, given that traditional methods of thematic analysis of scientific data tend to exclude nonconforming voices. Graphic art was chosen for its unique capacity for storytelling and its hybrid word-image format that allows for effective communication of information [1]

 

Karyn Thompson Hodson and her Family.

Karyn Thompson Hodson, whose interview was the basis of one of the comics put it best: 

“As a parent of a child who is medically complex, it’s a struggle to convey the overwhelming and difficult situation of our daily lives. The medium of graphic art used here, to shed some light on our lives is not only a beautiful show of talent but it is also an inclusive art everyone can appreciate. In a world that doesn’t always have room for people with disabilities, it was pure joy I saw in my son’s face, seeing himself represented in a form that he could appreciate as much as the people around him. I am excited to share this with family, friends and professionals.”

The project is ongoing, and the investigators hope to collect responses from the public regarding what themes and ideas they noticed from the comics. They hope that this project can lead to richer and more authentic co-creation of scientific knowledge, and the recognition of graphic art as an avenue for more effective communication of science with diverse and non-academic audiences.

 

[1] Li, O., Gray, N.A. (2023). Drawn Together: Merging the Worlds of Health and Comics Through Graphic Medicine. In: Shapiro, L. (eds) Graphic Medicine, Humanizing Healthcare and Novel Approaches in Anatomical Education. Biomedical Visualization, vol 3. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-39035-7_1