title: The Native Comic Book Project: native youth making comics and healthy decisions.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  American Indians and Alaska Natives have traditionally used stories and drawings to positively influence the well-being of their communities.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to describe the development of a curriculum that trains Native youth leaders to plan, write, and design original comic books to enhance healthy decision making.
  
  
  METHODS
  Project staff developed the Native Comic Book Project by adapting Dr. Michael Bitz's Comic Book Project to incorporate Native comic book art, Native storytelling, and decision-making skills. After conducting five train-the-trainer sessions for Native youth, staff were invited by youth participants to implement the full curriculum as a pilot test at one tribal community site in the Pacific Northwest. Implementation was accompanied by surveys and weekly participant observations and was followed by an interactive meeting to assess youth engagement, determine project acceptability, and solicit suggestions for curriculum changes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six youths aged 12 to 15 (average age = 14) participated in the Native Comic Book Project. Youth participants stated that they liked the project and gained knowledge of the harmful effects of commercial tobacco use but wanted better integration of comic book creation, decision making, and Native storytelling themes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Previous health-related comic book projects did not recruit youth as active producers of content. This curriculum shows promise as a culturally appropriate intervention to help Native youth adopt healthy decision-making skills and healthy behaviors by creating their own comic books.
authors.affiliation: Partnerships for Native Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. montgm2@u.washington.edu
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Montgomery
authors.forename: Brenda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Manuelito
authors.forename: Carrie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nass
authors.forename: Tami
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chock
authors.forename: Dedra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Buchwald
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D003142:Communication; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research; D003479:Curriculum; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D054525:Minority Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016730:Program Development / Q000379:methods*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D014481:United States; D014956:Writing