"Republicans risk becoming face of delta surge as key GOP governors oppose anti-covid measures" (WaPo). Stop politics from infecting California's science based COVID response.
Healthcare workers know first hand how politics influences healthcare and can put lives at risk. They're best qualified to explain how the California Recall election could impact their COVID care.
Recall elections are complicated. Candidates are evasive on questions about healthcare. GIFs and images are great for short messages. Videos aren't good for conveying detailed information. What's the right tool to explain what's at stake in the California Recall Election and candidates' positions on how to respond to the COVID pandemic?
Claire Conklin and Nick Cumpian, two medical students at U.C. San Diego created an infographic with PiktoChart, a free app to explain how the California Recall election could jeopardize their COVID care.
Healthcare worker activism
"I was listening to the radio and people were talking about the concern of the lack of interest from Democrats in the upcoming California Recall Election. I asked around to some of my friends and classmates and found that there was a lot of confusion about how the Recall works and the importance of it in general.
Nick and I made the graph image on EXCEL and PiktoChart allowed us to add arrows and colors to make the information grab your eye. I just took screenshots of segments of the graphic to post on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. We wanted to show why the top Republican candidates for the Recall would be bad for the COVID-19 response," explained Claire.
Elections have consequences
References: SurveyUSA Election Poll, U.C. Berkeley Study
Infographics improve understanding
Infographics are visual representations of knowledge to present information quickly and clearly. They improve understanding with graphics so people can more easily see trends. Edward Tufte explained in The Visual Display of Quantitative Information that infographics should:
- Serve a clear purpose
- Reveal the data at several levels of detail, from a broad overview to the fine structure
- Be closely integrated with the statistical and verbal descriptions of a data set
- Show the data and avoid distorting what the data has to say
- Present many numbers in a small space and make large data sets coherent
- Encourage the viewer to think about the substance rather than about the graphics
Piktochart is a free(mium) visual communication app to convert data into easily understood infographics.