This animation series for researchers was commissioned by the Communication Science Against Antibiotic Resistance (CSaAR) research lab at Penn State, led by Professor Erina L. Farrell (MacGeorge). The lab studies how better communication between healthcare providers and patients can promote antibiotic stewardship, reducing unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions while keeping patients informed and reassured. Antibiotic resistance is one of the most pressing public health threats we face, and a great deal of overprescribing comes down to how a single conversation in the consulting room goes. This animation series seeks to educate providers on how to engage with patients and intervene compassionately in antibotic seeking to help slow the arrival of resistant antibiotics.

The great news is: It worked! A longitudinal study published in the journal Antibiotics (2025) evaluated the five-video series with 135 healthcare providers and medical students, measuring their skills before watching, immediately after, and three months on. Providers’ communication skills improved after watching the animations, with the clearest gains in explaining diagnosis and treatment and in navigating appointments with young adult patients. The intervention was found to be especially beneficial for those who started with lower confidence and motivation, exactly the people such training most needs to reach. It’s such a rare treat to see animation work treated as a measured intervention in peer-reviewed research, and to have evidence that it made a difference.

The series covers five core communication skills for providers: explaining diagnosis and treatment, discussing the risks of antibiotics, advising on managing symptoms, offering patient support, and navigating appointments with young adult patients. The aim was to give current and future clinicians clear, practical models for handling moments where they might otherwise feel pressured into prescribing.

This was an unusually rigorous, research-led production process. Each animation was empirically tested rather than simply signed off. I built near-final assets and storyboards specifically for presentation to focus groups, and when providers evaluated those early materials they rated them highly for being clear, credible, engaging and useful. I revised the work in response to that feedback before animation began, and I was generously included as part of the official research team, which is exactly the kind of close collaboration I value most in my animation work with academics and researchers.

The project was funded by Merck through its Investigator Studies Programme, with development support from the Penn State College of the Liberal Arts, the Penn State Eberly College of Science, and the Penn State Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.

If you’re a researcher or organisation working on public health, behaviour change or clinical communication and you’d like to turn your research into animation, I’d love to hear from you. Get in touch.