This poster was presented at Computer Graphics & Visual Computing (CGVC24) at City St George's, University of London.
Caroline Walker, Staci Weiss, John Doorbar
Introduction: The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) field is comprised of distinct specialities all working together to decrease the worldwide burden of cervical cancer, the fourth most common cancer in women globally (Huang et al., 2022). However, effectively transferring information between research scientists, clinical, and public health disciplines remains challenging. To facilitate efficient knowledge transfer, we have developed a cross-disciplinary animation tool to convey key HPV disease biology concepts (Figure 1). Animations were reviewed by experts in each field for content accuracy and scope of use. Additionally, a UK-based cohort of healthcare professionals assessed engagement, self-assessed confidence with concepts, and acceptance of the animations.Methods: Two-dimensional (2D) Animations were developed using Adobe Creative Cloud: Adobe Animate, Photoshop, Illustrator and After Effects, with clinical image and literature examination, A ‘moving cervical model’ 2D animation to simulate how the cervical cells and sites differentiate over time was developed, similar to the histologists’ point of view. Areas key for understanding HPV infection, low-grade neoplasia, cervical cancer disease progression, vaccination mechanisms, and immune control throughout life were superimposed onto the ‘moving cervical model’ to indicate the different cell types, changes in cell shape, biomarkers, and antibodies associated with each area. Design-Based Research (DBR) methodology was utilised for animation development and for interviews of key experts in each area, allowing for iterations of each animation (Figure 2) (Baumgartner et al., 2003; Easterday et al., 2014). The ‘expert review’ study invited those recognised as key opinion leaders in the field of HPV to assess content validity, engagement, acceptability, and usability of the animation tool. In a UK cohort of healthcare workers, a within-subjects design with pre-and post-testing of eight HPV disease-biology self-assessed knowledge was conducted at an in-person workshop for continuing medical education (CME) and accreditation; data was analysed with JASP software.
Results: The DBR approach guided the creation and “review” of the animation series for scientific accuracy and clarity. Collaborative review cycles (9-12 per topic) yielded an animation series describing disease biology: HPV infection, life cycle, disease progression, transformation zone as a ‘cervical cancer hotspot’, immune control, and vaccination. Preliminary qualitative analysis suggests minor modifications should occur to text for animations, but the interviewing process is still ongoing for a small portion of the animations. Preliminary quantitative data for the expert review suggests high-content validity with high levels of engagement and acceptability of the animation tool. Data analysis is ongoing for the expert review and is expected to be finished in August 2024. The UK cohort (n=206) indicated that their self-assessed confidence of 8 concepts increased significantly in four areas, moderately in three areas and one area had small significance, which was the control. Highest confidence increase was observed for concepts outside their expertise, specifically immune control and stem cell division in the transformation zone.
Discussion: The necessity to create engaging visualisations for medical education, in this example to introduce key basic science HPV and cervical concepts to healthcare workers and public health specialists, is a novel way to effectively communicate in an engaging format within a relatively small amount of time. Whilst the literature contains all the information presented in the animations, it can be difficult to understand the cohesive model of basic science concepts just through reading or attending conferences. The animation tool endeavours to intertwine the literature and key opinion leaders’ expertise into easily accessible visualisations that increase scientific understanding for professional groups working to decrease the burden of cervical cancer. With better understanding of underlying scientific mechanisms, it is expected that this knowledge will influence clinicians’ understanding of preventative (primary and secondary) measures in the context of cervical cancer. Conclusion: Tailored training programs are crucial for rapid knowledge improvement in interdisciplinary fields. Previous research has highlighted HPV knowledge gaps amongst healthcare providers, suggesting the need for improved training approaches (Constable et al., 2022; Dodd et al., 2017; Malo et al., 2016; Restifo & Phelan, 2011; Sherman et al., 2020). The animation system appears to be a promising approach to enhancing understanding of HPV disease biology. The animation tool offers a novel solution for clinical education, bridging cross-disciplinary barriers to teach in an engaging and accessible format. We anticipate that the development of animations through cyclical review with experts will be similarly effective when applied to other scientific disciplines, such as breast cancer, when utilising the same methodology and collaborative approach.