Development and Validation of Self-Management Infographics for Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Rural Kenya.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the study was to develop and validate a set of infographics tailored for self-management by patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in rural Kenya, to prevent chronic kidney disease.

DESIGN

In collaboration with two graphic designers and through an iterative participatory process, the authors developed self-management infographics tailored for patients with T2DM. The authors followed the following steps in the development process: goal identification, target audience identification, definition of the intended message, identification of relevant symbols or graphics and infographic compilation.

SAMPLE: The images were validated by using participatory groups with patients with T2DM (n = 13) and healthcare workers (n = 7) caring for patients with T2DM. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9186 testing guided the comprehension level of images.

RESULTS

In total, 28 infographics received a score greater than 66%. The following characteristics significantly affected the comprehensibility of the infographics: whether written text was included, prior knowledge, viewers' frames, image characteristics, whether images were familiar/commonly encountered, the positioning of images, and colors and measurements that could be interpreted intuitively.

CONCLUSIONS

The authors conclude that an iterative approach is viable for developing tailored infographics for specific populations.