Comic Book Teaches Philly’s Black Transgender Women About HIV Prevention

Comic Book Teaches Philly’s Black Transgender Women About HIV Prevention

Key Takeaways:

  • A new comic book educates Black transgender women in Philadelphia about PrEP, a medication that prevents HIV.
  • A health expert at Temple University uses marketing techniques to encourage better health decisions.
  • By understanding how people think and feel, researchers create tailored messages to improve health outcomes.

A Comic Book with a Lifesaving Message

In Philadelphia, a unique comic book is helping Black transgender women learn about PrEP, a medication that prevents HIV infection. This project, led by researchers at Temple University, uses engaging visuals and relatable characters to explain how PrEP works and its benefits.

The comic book is part of a larger effort to address health challenges in the city. Philadelphia faces high rates of preventable deaths, often caused by choices like unhealthy diets or avoiding medical care. While some risks, like genetic disorders, are beyond our control, many health issues can be prevented by making smarter decisions.


A New Approach to Health Communication

Sarah Bauerle Bass, a health communication expert at Temple University, has spent decades studying how people make health decisions. She combines her background in marketing with public health research to understand why people choose certain behaviors and how to nudge them toward healthier choices.

“People often think, ‘That won’t happen to me,’ when it comes to risks like HIV or COVID-19,” Bass explains. “But if we can understand what drives their decisions, we can create messages that resonate.”

One of Bass’s strategies is segmentation analysis. This involves breaking large groups into smaller, more specific categories based on attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors rather than just age or gender. For example, she studied how connected transgender women felt to their community and found that those who felt more connected were more likely to use PrEP.


Using Marketing Tools for Health

Bass also uses perceptual mapping and vector message modeling to understand how people think about health decisions. These tools are like 3D maps that show the beliefs and attitudes of a group. Imagine plotting cities on a map—similarly, researchers can visualize how people perceive the benefits and barriers of a health decision.

For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bass used these tools to understand vaccine hesitancy in Philadelphia. She found that people with high medical mistrust were more likely to respond to messages addressing their specific concerns, like fears that minorities might receive unequal treatment.


Creating Tailored Messages

By combining segmentation analysis with perceptual mapping, Bass and her team can create messages that are highly targeted. For example, they developed a comic book for transgender women to explain PrEP in a way that feels personal and relevant.

This approach isn’t limited to HIV prevention. Bass has also created tools to encourage cancer patients to join clinical trials, help people with hepatitis C get treated, and remind low-income residents to get COVID-19 booster shots.


Empowering Communities Through Education

Bass’s work shows that health communication isn’t one-size-fits-all. By understanding what drives people’s decisions, researchers can create tools that truly make a difference. Whether it’s a comic book, a poster, or a social media post, the goal is the same: to help people make healthier choices.

As Bass says, “Getting people to make better decisions about their health can be tough, but it’s worth it. Every small step toward healthier choices can save lives.”


This innovative approach to public health is making waves in Philadelphia and beyond. By blending marketing techniques with a deep understanding of human behavior, researchers like Bass are helping communities take control of their health—one decision at a time.

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