Abstract
Objective: Comics have been employed with a range of audiences to address health literacy, education, and behaviours. However, research on comics in oral health education and health promotion is scarce. This scoping review investigated the use of comics in oral health promotion and aimed to identify areas of use, target audiences, outcomes, and the quality of existing research.
Methods: Four online databases, citation lists, and related webpages were searched to identify manuscripts published from 1999 to 2024, in any language. The methodological framework adopted involved identifying relevant studies, charting, collating and summarising data, and reporting the results. In addition, a quality assessment of the existing literature was undertaken.
Results: Fifteen articles were included in the review. Based on the findings, four themes were generated: (1) Availability and accessibility of the comic resource, (2) Research methods used in the studies, (3) Comic topics and outcomes, and (4) Target audiences. Print comics were more commonly reported than digital ones and had been developed for both adults and children on a range of oral health topics. The comic design and format varied. Public access to the developed comics was limited. Most studies revealed positive effects on oral health knowledge from the use of comics. The quality of the reporting for the majority of the studies was, however, weak overall.
Conclusion: The body of research on the utilisation of comic resources for oral health promotion is limited; however, several studies show promise of positive effects from comics delivered in a range of designs and formats as tools for oral health education and health promotion.