Cartoons could be a beneficial way of educating patients and empowering them to cope better with their long term conditions, research indicates. "Humor is frequently and naturally used by people with chronic illnesses to help them adjust and understand what is happening to them," explains the study's leader. .

"Our study has shown that cartoons could provide clarity to patients and be a way to engage with them. It is an untapped resource and could be a potential approach to support self-management." Results showed a range of feelings towards the cartoons including amusement, recognition, hostility and incentives to action. Overall patients found the cartoons useful in lightening the tone of information and gave patients insight and understanding they had not had before. Cartoons can be challenging and the difficult emotional responses some pictures evoke could be used to help people adjust to their situation, but they can also be used to dispel misconceptions. The word chronic is often misinterpreted as meaning terminal -- reaction to the particular cartoon that demonstrated 'chronic' did prove a bit shocking to some patients but it allowed the word to be talked through and it was a tipping point for patients to better understand what their condition was