Grant: Dissemination Events - PA: First Nations, Inuit and Métis Health

Popular media is a major force in the lives of adolescents. For example, media can have positive or detrimental influences on body image, eating habits, and self-esteem. However, media sources can also assist youth make more positive health decisions. Our research suggests that adolescents need to understand how to critically evaluate media health messages but must have cultural and grade appropriate materials. In this project Aboriginal adolescents will create and use comic book style 'graphic novels' to share knowledge about how analyzing and judging health messages in the media can ultimately improve their health. Our knowledge sharing will take place in a rural BC school division with a large population of Indigenous students. We will work closely with the local Director of Instruction, Principal of Aboriginal Education, band members and Elders to include the community in our work. Two team members from the university will make three trips to the community. The first step will be to create an Advisory Group including school and community leaders. Next, a group of Aboriginal adolescents, both boys and girls, facilitated by Aboriginal community adults and university based researchers, will learn about advertising and its impact on health, including gender based targetting, as discovered in our research. This writing team will then plan a graphic novel which will present this information in a story including Aboriginal characters, settings, cultural symbols and activities. Once completed, an Aboriginal artist will illustrate the graphic novel which will be presented to the community in hard copies and online at a community event. We will also present teachers with information on how to use these novels in health education classes with all students to further share our research on developing healthy understanding of media messages. Novels and lesson materials will be shared through websites/social media for wider access.