A Healthy Liver Will Always Deliver! is a comic book for rising awareness on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and promote healthy lifestyles.
The creation of the comic involved type 2 diabetes (T2DM) patients, professionals, and researchers from life sciences, biomedicine, psychology, and sociology. The concept and story were designed by Mireia Alemany i Pàges, the script by João Ramalho-Santos, the illustrations by artist Rui Tavares, and a participatory approach with editorial support by Anabela Marisa Azul. The comic book, published by the Coimbra University Press, Portugal, is available online in 9 languages at https://www.fattylivercomics.com.
“The narrative was developed to elicit reflections upon the impact of behavioral habits on liver health and the individual’s wellbeing and as a result, influence the promotion of healthy dietary and exercise practices.” – Mireia Alemany i Pàges.
“Comics have the potential of conveying complex messages in a manner that is attractive and simple, without being simplistic. But one has to be aware of the amount of work that goes into each image, in order to generate measurable understanding of complex concepts.” – João Ramalho-Santos
“The comic encompassed a close illustrator-researchers interaction, essential for bringing the biomedical research within a multi-layered graphic narrative.” – Rui Tavares
“Interdisciplinarity and participatory research provide strong evidence that active engagement contributes to a deeper understanding of the circumstances associated with disease condition to better inform health-promoting changes.” – Anabela Marisa Azul.
©Alemany-Pagès et al., 2021; Illustration: Rui Tavares, 2021.
