Infographics in medical education: as a tool in learning the English language

Autores/as

Palabras clave:

Infographics; Medical Education; English Language Learning; Health Communication; Visual Literacy

Resumen

Medical education faces the ongoing challenge of effectively conveying complex knowledge in a context of information overload. Infographics, as a visual resource integrating text and images, are emerging as a pedagogical tool with transformative potential, especially in teaching English for medical purposes. This opinion piece reflects on the value of infographics in training healthcare professionals to master English as the lingua franca of science, as well as in communicating with English-speaking patients. It analyzes their neurocognitive foundations—such as dual encoding and cognitive load reduction—their applications in the university classroom for acquiring technical vocabulary and understanding clinical processes, and their usefulness in bilingual clinical settings for improving health literacy and patient safety. It is concluded that infographics, designed with scientific and pedagogical rigor and incorporating updated references (2021-2025), constitute a valuable resource that deserves to be systematically incorporated into health science curricula and community education materials, training professionals with integrated visual and linguistic competencies.

Descargas

Los datos de descargas todavía no están disponibles.

Citas

1. Chan SMH, Mamat NH, Nadarajah VD. Mind your language: the importance of english language skills in an International Medical Programme (IMP). BMC Med Educ. 2022 May 26;22(1):405. doi: 10.1186/s12909-022-03481-w

2. Choi LJ. Implementing English for Medical Purposes (EMP) in South Korea: Nursing students' ongoing needs analysis. Nurse Educ Today. 2021 Sep;104:104989. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2021.104989

3. Jaleniauskiene E, Kasperiuniene J. Infographics in higher education: A scoping review. E-Learning and Digital Media. 2023;20(2):191-206. doi: 10.1177/20427530221107774

4. Ilaghi M, Soltanizadeh A, Salajegheh M. Discontinuity in continuum: Transitions in medical education as a milieu for personal development. J Taibah Univ Med Sci. 2023 Mar 21;18(5):1087-1088. doi: 10.1016/j.jtumed.2023.03.007

5. Madan CR. Using Evidence-Based Learning Strategies to Improve Medical Education. Med Sci Educ. 2023 May 6;33(3):773-776. doi: 10.1007/s40670-023-01798-9.

6. Ghanbari S, Haghani F, Barekatain M, Jamali A. A systematized review of cognitive load theory in health sciences education and a perspective from cognitive neuroscience. J Educ Health Promot. 2020 Jul 28;9:176. doi: 10.4103/jehp.jehp_643_19

7. Ruskulis L, Demianenko O, Slyusarenko N, Mikryukova K, Gurduz A, Rodionov D. Infographics as a modern trend and an effective tool for optimising the process of training students: a qualitative study. Premier J Sci. [Internet] 2025 [citado 25/03/2026];14:100134. Disponible en: https://premierscience.com/pjs-25-1248/

8. Sivila Flores EA. Infografías como Recurso Didáctico en Educación Superior. Ciencia Latina [Internet]. 2023 [citado 25/03/2026];7(5):7404-22. Disponible en: https://ciencialatina.org/index.php/cienciala/article/view/8325

9. Gottlieb M, Ibrahim AM, Martin LJ, Yilmaz Y, Chan TM. Educator's blueprint: A how-to guide for creating a high-quality infographic. AEM Educ Train. 2022 Aug 25;6(4):e10793. doi: 10.1002/aet2.10793.

10. Spicer JO, Coleman CG. Creating Effective Infographics and Visual Abstracts to Disseminate Research and Facilitate Medical Education on Social Media. Clin Infect Dis. 2022 May 15;74(Suppl_3):e14-e22. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciac058.

11. Barlow B, Webb A, Barlow A. Maximizing the visual translation of medical information: A narrative review of the role of infographics in clinical pharmacy practice, education, and research. J Am Coll Clin Pharm. 2021;4(2):257-266. doi: 10.1002/jac5.1386

12. Zadro JR, Ferreira GE, O'Keeffe M, Stahl-Timmins W, Elkins MR, Maher CG. How do people use and view infographics that summarise health and medical research? A cross-sectional survey. BMC Med Educ. 2022 Sep 14;22(1):677. doi: 10.1186/s12909-022-03744-6

13. Kong HK, Zainab F, Turner AM, Bekemeier B, Backonja U. Trends in and Effectiveness of Infographics for Health Communication: A Scoping Review. Health Commun. 2025 Feb;40(2):222-232. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2024.2342595

14. Mc Sween-Cadieux E, Chabot C, Fillol A, Saha T, Dagenais C. Use of infographics as a health-related knowledge translation tool: protocol for a scoping review. BMJ Open. 2021 Jun 16;11(6):e046117. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-046117

15. Beecher B, O'Doherty A, Goulao B, Jalali A, Salsberg J, Dore L, Hannigan A. Designing infographics in health research with patients and the public: A scoping review protocol. PLoS One. 2023 Sep 1;18(9):e0291066. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291066

16. Cavalcante FML, Araújo DV de, Macedo TS, Jones AG, Fonseca LMM, Barros LM. Desarrollo y validación de infografía animada para la educación en salud de personas con enfermedades cardiometabólicas. Enferm. glob. 2025;24(75):1-19. doi: 10.6018/eglobal.637891

17. Butdisuwan S, M Annamma L, Subaveerapandiyan A, George BT, Kataria S. Visualising Medical Research: Exploring the Influence of Infographics on Professional Dissemination. ScientificWorldJournal. 2024 Jun 18;2024:5422121. doi: 10.1155/2024/5422121

Publicado

01-06-2026

Cómo citar

1.
Núñez-Arévalo M, Domínguez-León AV, Morales-de la Cruz T, Álvarez-Ayala D. Infographics in medical education: as a tool in learning the English language. MedEst [Internet]. 1 de junio de 2026 [citado 8 de agosto de 2026];6:e558. Disponible en: https://revmedest.sld.cu/index.php/medest/article/view/558

Número

Sección

ARTÍCULO DE OPINIÓN