Using Motion Graphics to Raise Awareness on Vaccines (Published)
Vaccines have been around since 1796 when Edward Jenner who is considered the founder of vaccinology treated a boy with vaccinia virus aka cowpox and developed immunity to smallpox which is when the first vaccine was developed. Vaccines have continued to improve throughout the century and people have been discovering other vaccines for different pathogens. A vaccine is a type of medicine that contains weakened or dead bacteria or viruses enough to signal the antibodies to adapt to the foreign invader. Antibodies are also known as immunoglobulin is a protein that is used by the immune system to eliminate pathogens such as bacteria and viruses. As vaccines continue to improve, people have also developed doubt and hesitancy for vaccines. In the Philippines, some people are hesitant to have themselves vaccinated due to the Dengvaxia controversy which is still ongoing. The Dengvaxia controversy instilled fear in those planning to be vaccinated since the WHO (World Health Organization) released a statement that the vaccine may do more harm than good on seronegative individuals. The controversy made the people start forming conspiracy theories that vaccines in general will do more harm than good. According to a 2014 MIT study, visual communication such as motion graphics is effective on how the brain absorbs nearly instant information, especially when pairing the motion graphics with audio or narration that is focused on what the visuals tell, canceling or isolating out non-relevant information and solely focuses on the message itself. This study aims to determine if motion graphics can raise the awareness of vaccines due to the rising cases of vaccine-preventable diseases and the increasing vaccine hesitancy in the Philippines. A qualitative approach was done and used the survey method with a sampling size of 33 parents aging from 18 and above. The researcher made use of motion graphics as the medium of delivery of the message to raise awareness of the effectiveness of vaccines and an unstructured self-administered questionnaire was used. 96.96% of the respondents responded that motion graphics was effective in raising awareness of vaccine and the majority of the respondents liked how the three theories worked hand in hand to successfully create the motion graphics, the participants found that the minimalistic elements, amount, and flow of information helped raise awareness and they are willing to apply what they have learned from the motion graphics.
Keywords: Storytelling, awareness, vaccines