Codevelopment of an illustration representative of people living with spina bifida for health educational materials.
Jenna Goldstein, Jennifer L Robinson, Mieke H Hart and 4 others
PMID 37142458WHAT IT FOUND
Stakeholders with spina bifida rejected generic illustrations in favor of realistic assistive devices, diverse body types, and characters showing invisible disabilities.
They emphasized depicting people as happy, strong, and engaged in hobbies to combat negative media stereotypes.
Key findings
01Participants preferred characters with realistic assistive devices and diverse body types over abstract or stereotypical depictions.
02Stakeholders emphasized the need to include characters without visible disabilities to represent the full spectrum of spina bifida.
03Respondents insisted on depicting characters as happy, healthy, and active to counter negative media portrayals of disability.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Participants were recruited exclusively from the Spina Bifida Association's conference and Instagram followers, which may not represent the broader population of people with spina bifida. Many Round 2 respondents were older than the intended adolescent audience for the educational materials. The anonymous online survey allowed participants to respond more than once, which could skew frequency data. The study focused only on spina bifida, so the specific preferences for illustration features may not generalize to other physical disabilities. Qualitative feedback was prioritized over quantitative data, which the authors found less useful for design refinement.
Declared interests
The study was supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the University of Michigan. No commercial conflicts of interest were reported.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume these design preferences apply to all people with physical disabilities. The study focused exclusively on the spina bifida community, and the authors explicitly state that the findings may not be generalizable to adolescents with other conditions like cerebral palsy or spinal cord injuries.