Evaluation of the impact of an awareness-based animation on students’ knowledge about mental illness

Animation is an exceptionally good medium for educating and raising awareness of the issues that are more difficult to talk about, such as mental illness. The use of animation and graphics in society awareness and education can improve knowledge and communication about issues related to mental illness. Despite various destigmatization activities, people are still reluctant to directly approach individuals suffering from mental illness, partly because they do not have enough knowledge on the subject. Therefore, the aim of our study was to test whether animation can improve the knowledge about appropriate / inappropriate conversations with a person suffering from depression in a Slovenian student population. We focused on education and awareness-based animation (adapted to the target group) to evoke empathy without arousing pity and to indirectly encourage people in need and others to talk about it. The methodology included the surveying of the participants and their knowledge about appropriate and inappropriate conversations with a person suffering from depression (22 phrases, 11 appropriate and 11 inappropriate). 251 participants aged 19 to 30 completed the survey. Participants were asked to rate each phrase for appropriateness on a 5-point Likert scale before and after being exposed to the animation. The results obtained were analysed using the paired samples t-test. The desired change in knowledge was confirmed by comparing the average scores of the survey responses before and after viewing the animation. A statistically significant result was obtained in 18 of 22 sentences. A change in the desired direction was detected in 81% of the statements. Our study had some limitations, but we nevertheless conclude that an awareness-based animation can be a useful tool to increase knowledge and subsequently influence behavioural change in the student population.