Using children’s digital picture books to teach disease preventive behaviors: A visual analysis of the Duma Says series
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Background: During health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic, children require accessible and developmentally appropriate resources to understand disease prevention and health-related behaviors. Children’s digital picture books have emerged as a promising medium for conveying public health messages through visual storytelling and age-appropriate narratives.
Objectives: This study aimed to examine how children’s digital picture books represent disease preventive behaviors and moral values, using the Duma Says series as a case study.
Methods: A qualitative visual and textual analysis was conducted on four digital picture books from the Duma Says Collector’s Edition. The study employed qualitative visual analysis and a critical discourse approach to examine representations of hygiene practices, social responsibility, and community engagement embedded in both images and narratives.
Results: The findings indicate that the Duma Says series effectively integrates key COVID-19 preventive behaviors—such as handwashing, mask-wearing, social distancing, and sanitation—within child-friendly language and culturally contextualized visuals. In addition to promoting health practices, the books emphasize values of hope, responsibility, cooperation, and service, portraying children as active contributors to community well-being during a crisis.
Conclusions: Children’s digital picture books, such as the Duma Says series, function as effective educational tools for promoting disease prevention awareness and values-based learning. Incorporating culturally grounded digital picture books into early childhood and health education may strengthen children’s health literacy, emotional resilience, and sense of social responsibility during public health emergencies.Acheampong, P., & Gyasi, J. F. (2019). Teacher Retention: A Review of Policies for Motivating Rural Basic School Teachers in Ghana. Asian Journal of Education and Training, 5(1), 86-92. https://doi.org/10.20448/journal.522.2019.51.86.92
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