Graphic Medicine and Region 7: What’s Next?

Posted by Sarah Levin-Lederer on December 20th, 2021 Posted in: Graphic Medicine
Tags: community engagement, Community of Interest, graphic medicine

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Back in October, I wrote about past Region 7 Graphic Medicine work, outlined a few ideas of where we might go next and invited partners to give feedback on a five minute R7 Graphic Medicine COI Survey.

 

With the information that’s been shared so far, it’s time to talk about what we’ve learned and what’s next.

The survey received 14 responses from five of the seven R7 states. The survey form is still live and we welcome more feedback especially from partners in Maine and New Hampshire.

What we learned:

Networking

The survey responses showed a strong interest in participating in Virtual Social (10) and some interest in a potential in-person social (8).

There was some interest in participating in a mentor program (5), but it looks like the idea would need to be fleshed out more before people commit (not sure=7).

Education

Suggested education offerings showed the strongest interest among respondents with 13 people interested in participating in webinars and 13 people interested in participating in potential future regional conferences.

Resource creation and maintenance

Respondents expressed an interest in working on creating, updating or maintaining resources such as the Graphic Medicine Book Club Kits (6) and an NNLM Graphic Medicine Resource Guide (6).

So what’s next?

Now that we have some idea of potential interest in projects, I’ll be scheduling a meeting for early February to officially stand up the Graphic Medicine COI. At this meeting we’ll discuss plans for YR2 (May, 2022-April 2023) with agenda topics focused on some of the higher interest projects such as planning for a potential virtual social and starting the conversation about what the Graphic Medicine Resource Guide might look like.

If you’re interested in participating in this COI, contact  Sarah Levin-Lederer or if you haven’t already, fill out the five minute NNLM R7 Graphic Medicine COI Interest Form.

And an announcement

In the October blog post, I also teased a new kit and it’s here!

Our newest kit focused on familial substance use featuring Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka with discussion guide and supporting health information is now available to request for programs happening in the new year!

From the publisher…”Hey, Kiddo is a profoundly important memoir about growing up in a family as it grapples with addiction, finding the people who help get you through, and the art that helps you survive.”

Learn more and request a kit now for your 2022 programs. Kits cover twelve health topics including mental health, aging, HIV/AIDS, Grief, Cancer, LGBTQ health and more. Each kit is a program in a box and comes with six copies of one book, discussion guide, a how to read a comic guide and supporting health information.

Kits are…

• Available for any Region 7 based organization
• Loaned for six weeks
• Free: return shipping included
• Good for both new and long-time comic readers