MEDICAL
INFORMATION
FOR KIDS
INFORMATION
FOR KIDS
LATEST NEWS
26 Feb 2010 | Press Release
The Metro reports that a pair of junior doctors from New Zealand were so appalled with the system of explanation to children regarding diseases they, their family or close friends were suffering that they turned their training and energy into a project which seeks to reduce the anxiety that surrounds the treatment and side-effects.
Medikidz is the creation of Dr Kim Chilman-Blair and Dr Kate Hersov, a pair of junior doctors from New Zealand who have sought to service the gap that exists between children learning about diseases from an adult who struggles to communicate and a pamphlet which for a child can be a benign and baffling construction.
"When children fall ill they naturally look to adults for courage, comfort and explanation. In most cases these adults are unprepared and unqualified to deal with these situations and they have no useful information to give to young people to explain what is happening to them." The 34 year old Dr Chilman-Blair told the Times.
"We founded Medikidz out of frustration that as junior doctors and paediatricians there was nothing to give to children to explain what was going on," she explained, "we realised there was no comprehensive resource for children anywhere. It was such a staggering realisation that we both left our day jobs to work on this full time."
The Medikidz are a team of five comic-book superheroes who comprise parts of the cardiovascular and gastrointestinal systems and battle a range of viruses, diseases and infections upon their planet Mediland which is a universe shaped like the human body. The comic books aim for humour and energy, whilst delivering a substantial education upon a variety of illnesses from those commonly affecting children such as leukaemia, scoliosis, asthma and epilepsy to those likely to affect parents such as breast cancer and depression.
Composed by Drs Chilman-Blair and Hersov, the material is subject to peer-review by medical industry specialists who endorse the accuracy of the information and the artistic flashes are then added by former Marvel comic book designers.
The books have been warmly received by the medical community and praised for their initiative and expression. "Having this in comic book format and using social networking technology will be enormous step forward," Professor Ricky Richardson, a leading paediatrician and government adviser told the Times. "It moves the focus away from parents to children. The psychology of the relationship between parents and children can complicate things, because parents will naturally protect their children and may not pass on information to them. But in fact that child can gain much more from properly understanding where they are and what's happening to them."
Having tackled traditional diseases the authors now plan to compose books which will deal with sensitive contemporary problems such as childhood obesity and also are working on a series dealing with HIV/Aids which will aim to service children in the third world.
The books are currently only available online but are expected to enter book stores later this year.