REVIEW * Medikidz explain HIV
May 27th 2010 09:57
Original Creative Writing:
multimedia medical education publishing company
Link: www.medikidz.com
REVIEW: What's up with Matt?
The world's first multimedia medical education publishing company for children launched in Australia in May 2010 and it's something quite wonderful. Certainly I was fascinated to read about the variety of health issues being covered, including Swine Flu, HIV and Breast Cancer.
The original media information explained:
As doctors working in paediatrics, Dr Kim Chilman-Blair and Dr Kate Hersov became increasingly frustrated that there was very little information available to help educate sick children about disease.
With most medical information targeted at adults, they saw an opportunity to develop an entirely new approach to conveying complex information on diseases and illnesses to children.
Their solution: a series of comic-book superheroes called the Medikidz.
Who are the Medikidz?
Every year in the top seven English-speaking countries, some 350 million 5 - 15 year-olds are diagnosed with a childhood illness. Designed to meet this challenge, the Medikidz (Pump, Chi, Skinderella, Gastronomic, Axon and Abacus) are a group of five larger-than-life cartoon superheroes who live on Mediland - a planet shaped just like the human body.
Through the comic books and website the Medikidz take you on a journey through Mediland, explaining complex medical issues in an entertaining, exciting and novel way to young people - and their parents.
What began as an idea for comic books has matured into the world's first multimedia health education company for children.
At present there are 19 titles, including books on asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, HIV and leukaemia, and a website that offers medical information and facilitates social networking - a medical Facebook for sick kids.
There are also healthy doses of blogging and Twitter to deliver medical information to teenagers.
Dr Kim Chilman-Blair, author and Chief Executive of Medikidz says, We founded Medikidz after working in paediatrics and discovering that there was no patient information being made available specifically for young patients. So we set out to produce comic books (explaining conditions like Type 1 Diabetes, Leukaemia, Asthma, Osteosarcoma, Food Allergy, Obesity, Scoliosis, OSA and Epilepsy) and information brochures (educating on specific medicines or investigations, like 'Medikidz Explain MRI Scans') all for young patients aged 8-15 years. All of our titles are written by doctors, then peer reviewed by leading consultants in the field, and are then reviewed by our Youth Advisory Board. By offering this information to the child at the point of diagnosis, we can put the child at ease as well as empowering them with knowledge.
Having been involved in running a Community Health facility The Positive Living Center in Surry Hills (way back in 2000) I was most interested in looking at the Medikidz's What's Up With Matt? publication, because it deals with HIV - a subject so badly represented in the mainstream media for so long, that already there's a vast ignorance surrounding the issue within the generally (under-educated or blatantly uneducated) public.
I know you can ask any Poeple Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) a question about the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and get a pretty solid answer of the details of the actual virus, the distinction between HIV and AIDS and the clarification that you don't catch AIDS, you become HIV antibody positive. This is the indicator that someone's immune sytem has been fighting the HIV, and so strongly suggests they are infected.
I also know that you can ask most school librarians and teachers about HIV/AIDS and they will likely tell you (that) AIDS kills people and it's mostly a Gay disease. I know this because I have constantly found myself growing annoyed by these oversimplifications related by younger people who have learnt all about it at school; and so think they actually know all about it. Shame shame shame as Derryn Hinch would say.
What is so wonderful about this particular comic novella? The title for a start - consistently if you are ill, or say you've been ill, the response will be What's wrong with you? or What was wrong with you?
A curious response as far as our language goes I think. The title of this Medikidz series is always What's up with (insert character name) a far better use of language, and a very good start.
Let's avoid making value calls such as wrong because the eventual understanding and implication of something being wrong is not really a good way to talk about any illness to anyone in my humble opinion. So a big thumb's up for the sensitively thought through title. What's up? Something's up? It just keeps the whole judgemental rhetoric of the virus out of the picture. I like that a lot.
Now kids and young people like a comic book. It tells a story in a minimum of verbage usually, and shows a lot more than it tells. It is also a communication medium that is attractive to young people because it is easy to read and understand, usually has a bit of wit involved as well. What's Up With Matt? Medikidz explain HIV has wit.
Matt is a young Negro lad at high school who plays soccer, he's an athletic kid, but at the start of this story he is listless and rapidly feeling apathetic towards the goals in life he was once able to be passionate about, yet currently feels a bit distracted from.
The Medikidz take him into their world and through some episodic adventures they deliver some clear and currently acceptable facts about HIV. This is good - the options of medication to fight and keep the virus at bay is clearly placed without any value judgement calls. Again, really good. Matt, the youngster with HIV has a few moments of feeling doomed, but the Medikidz set him on the right track.
Clear and currently standard facts about Viral Load, Blood Pictures and Medications are all well delivered without it all getting over complicated or too technical to relate well to young people. So I give this (content wise) a big tick of approval - it's worth having around if you want to have something that will help a young person get to grips with what HIV actually is, and does.
We even have young Matt declaiming that when he's old enough to have sex, he will need to use a condom. Now that is also very smart work. It doesn't attempt to look at the issue of sexuality at all, nor does it attempt to string out any notions of reproduction.
Matt, when saying he is doomed receives a great deal of immediate support and encouragement. Again this is just brilliant. I am sure the other comic books in the series will be just as well thought through, so I have no qualms whatsoever of highly recommending this series for a youth centre, a school, a club, anyone who may be dealing with breaking the news to the kids about mum or dad or uncle or aunt etc being a PLWHA or even a young person who has somehow contacted this most difficult to get virus.
And it happens, not through anal sex necessarily, but through needle sharing, accidental exposure through a transmission, accidents - obviously some young people do go out and have unprotected sex and contract the virus, so let's keep our rose coloured glasses in their case and accept that that traditional way to contract the virus, through sexual intercourse does happen.
So be it a process of helping someone (adults will learn from this as well) or someone's younger family members (goodness knows there are plenty - nay - heaps and heaps of guys who are married, bisexual, and out there hooking up behind the back of their family, with other guys who may or may not be 'out' as gay... and research has shown that men who have sex with men but don't identify as gay are actually at a very high risk of contracting all sorts of sexually transmitted diseases) from the glut of ignorance surrounding this condition and potential avenue towards disease, this particular comic would be a good investment indeed.
David Jobling
The world's first multimedia medical education publishing company for children launched in Australia in May 2010 and it's something quite wonderful. Certainly I was fascinated to read about the variety of health issues being covered, including Swine Flu, HIV and Breast Cancer.
The original media information explained:
As doctors working in paediatrics, Dr Kim Chilman-Blair and Dr Kate Hersov became increasingly frustrated that there was very little information available to help educate sick children about disease.
With most medical information targeted at adults, they saw an opportunity to develop an entirely new approach to conveying complex information on diseases and illnesses to children.
Their solution: a series of comic-book superheroes called the Medikidz.
Who are the Medikidz?
Every year in the top seven English-speaking countries, some 350 million 5 - 15 year-olds are diagnosed with a childhood illness. Designed to meet this challenge, the Medikidz (Pump, Chi, Skinderella, Gastronomic, Axon and Abacus) are a group of five larger-than-life cartoon superheroes who live on Mediland - a planet shaped just like the human body.
Through the comic books and website the Medikidz take you on a journey through Mediland, explaining complex medical issues in an entertaining, exciting and novel way to young people - and their parents.
What began as an idea for comic books has matured into the world's first multimedia health education company for children.
At present there are 19 titles, including books on asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, HIV and leukaemia, and a website that offers medical information and facilitates social networking - a medical Facebook for sick kids.
There are also healthy doses of blogging and Twitter to deliver medical information to teenagers.
Dr Kim Chilman-Blair, author and Chief Executive of Medikidz says, We founded Medikidz after working in paediatrics and discovering that there was no patient information being made available specifically for young patients. So we set out to produce comic books (explaining conditions like Type 1 Diabetes, Leukaemia, Asthma, Osteosarcoma, Food Allergy, Obesity, Scoliosis, OSA and Epilepsy) and information brochures (educating on specific medicines or investigations, like 'Medikidz Explain MRI Scans') all for young patients aged 8-15 years. All of our titles are written by doctors, then peer reviewed by leading consultants in the field, and are then reviewed by our Youth Advisory Board. By offering this information to the child at the point of diagnosis, we can put the child at ease as well as empowering them with knowledge.
Having been involved in running a Community Health facility The Positive Living Center in Surry Hills (way back in 2000) I was most interested in looking at the Medikidz's What's Up With Matt? publication, because it deals with HIV - a subject so badly represented in the mainstream media for so long, that already there's a vast ignorance surrounding the issue within the generally (under-educated or blatantly uneducated) public.
I know you can ask any Poeple Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) a question about the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and get a pretty solid answer of the details of the actual virus, the distinction between HIV and AIDS and the clarification that you don't catch AIDS, you become HIV antibody positive. This is the indicator that someone's immune sytem has been fighting the HIV, and so strongly suggests they are infected.
I also know that you can ask most school librarians and teachers about HIV/AIDS and they will likely tell you (that) AIDS kills people and it's mostly a Gay disease. I know this because I have constantly found myself growing annoyed by these oversimplifications related by younger people who have learnt all about it at school; and so think they actually know all about it. Shame shame shame as Derryn Hinch would say.
What is so wonderful about this particular comic novella? The title for a start - consistently if you are ill, or say you've been ill, the response will be What's wrong with you? or What was wrong with you?
A curious response as far as our language goes I think. The title of this Medikidz series is always What's up with (insert character name) a far better use of language, and a very good start.
Let's avoid making value calls such as wrong because the eventual understanding and implication of something being wrong is not really a good way to talk about any illness to anyone in my humble opinion. So a big thumb's up for the sensitively thought through title. What's up? Something's up? It just keeps the whole judgemental rhetoric of the virus out of the picture. I like that a lot.
Now kids and young people like a comic book. It tells a story in a minimum of verbage usually, and shows a lot more than it tells. It is also a communication medium that is attractive to young people because it is easy to read and understand, usually has a bit of wit involved as well. What's Up With Matt? Medikidz explain HIV has wit.
Matt is a young Negro lad at high school who plays soccer, he's an athletic kid, but at the start of this story he is listless and rapidly feeling apathetic towards the goals in life he was once able to be passionate about, yet currently feels a bit distracted from.
The Medikidz take him into their world and through some episodic adventures they deliver some clear and currently acceptable facts about HIV. This is good - the options of medication to fight and keep the virus at bay is clearly placed without any value judgement calls. Again, really good. Matt, the youngster with HIV has a few moments of feeling doomed, but the Medikidz set him on the right track.
Clear and currently standard facts about Viral Load, Blood Pictures and Medications are all well delivered without it all getting over complicated or too technical to relate well to young people. So I give this (content wise) a big tick of approval - it's worth having around if you want to have something that will help a young person get to grips with what HIV actually is, and does.
We even have young Matt declaiming that when he's old enough to have sex, he will need to use a condom. Now that is also very smart work. It doesn't attempt to look at the issue of sexuality at all, nor does it attempt to string out any notions of reproduction.
Matt, when saying he is doomed receives a great deal of immediate support and encouragement. Again this is just brilliant. I am sure the other comic books in the series will be just as well thought through, so I have no qualms whatsoever of highly recommending this series for a youth centre, a school, a club, anyone who may be dealing with breaking the news to the kids about mum or dad or uncle or aunt etc being a PLWHA or even a young person who has somehow contacted this most difficult to get virus.
And it happens, not through anal sex necessarily, but through needle sharing, accidental exposure through a transmission, accidents - obviously some young people do go out and have unprotected sex and contract the virus, so let's keep our rose coloured glasses in their case and accept that that traditional way to contract the virus, through sexual intercourse does happen.
So be it a process of helping someone (adults will learn from this as well) or someone's younger family members (goodness knows there are plenty - nay - heaps and heaps of guys who are married, bisexual, and out there hooking up behind the back of their family, with other guys who may or may not be 'out' as gay... and research has shown that men who have sex with men but don't identify as gay are actually at a very high risk of contracting all sorts of sexually transmitted diseases) from the glut of ignorance surrounding this condition and potential avenue towards disease, this particular comic would be a good investment indeed.
David Jobling
| 71 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
David Jobling
