A Culturally-Targeted HIV/AIDS Graphic Novel for Teen Well-Being

Approximately 35.3 million people worldwide were living with HIV in 2012 (U.N. AIDS Global Report, 2013). Of this population, an estimated 2.1 million young people (ages 10–19) were living with HIV in low-and middle-income countries (Jewkes, 2010). In spite of the high population of young people with HIV/AIDS worldwide, studies have shown that many young people are not concerned about becoming infected with HIV/AIDS (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2000). In order to reduce this troubling trend, education and prevention efforts are needed to raise young adults’ awareness of HIV/AIDS issues. To address this need, the researchers and an illustrator, working in collaboration with students in the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice School District (SCDJJSD), developed an age-appropriate, culturally diverse graphic novel on HIV/AIDS. Once the novel, AIDS in the End Zone (Albright & Gavigan, 2014) was completed, graphic novel book club interventions were held with young adults in South Carolina and North Carolina to measure knowledge gains and impact from reading the graphic novel. The purpose of this project is to examine the role that graphic novels can play as a resource for increasing HIV/AIDS awareness among young adults. This paper will present the findings from the study, the first of its kind to provide scientifically-based research that examines whether or not graphic novels can be an effective HIV/AIDS prevention tool for young adults.