OBESITY AND MENTAL HEALTH:
Visualizing the Intersection Between Canada's Two Greatest Epidemics
project concept
Nearly two thirds of Canadians are overweight, and one in five are affected by mental health issues, but we are only now starting to learn about the many bi-directional interactions that connect them. The interaction between obesity and mental health is a relatively new field of research, and existing visualizations on the topic are few in number and limited in scope.
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Targeted at family doctors, the goal of this project is to build an eLearning module that will
a) improve physician knowledge in order to increase prevention, early detection, and efficacy of treatment for people at risk, and,
b) provide physicians with an educational resource that they can explore and discuss with their patients.
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The main component of the module is a 3D animation embedded into an interactive website. The animation, although targeted at patients, aims to build empathy in physicians for their patients through visual storytelling. The animation be refined through formative feedback gathered from pre-and post-test evaluations, and the final version will be accessible online to support health care communities across Canada.
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Dr. Leila Lax | BA, BScAAM, MEd, PhD
Dr. Valerie Taylor | MD, FRCPC, PhD
Dr. Derek Ng | BSc, MScBMC, PhD
research committee
affiliations
1) Pre-production: scientific research, concept art, storyboarding, character design, wireframes, script writing
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2) Production: asset modelling/rigging in zBrush and Maya, motion graphics, composition, lighting, texturing, animating
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3) Post-production: compositing in After Effects, special effects, sound editing, integration of interactive elements through Javascript
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4) Evaluation: design research study with family physicians through the use of pre- and post-knowledge tests
progress
