Manama: Communicating complex health messages will be among research workstreams to be presented at the 2015 World Innovation Summit for Health (Wish) summit to be held in Qatar.
Reports on diabetes, delivering affordable cancer care, dementia, well-being in children and young people, universal health coverage and patient safety will also be discussed at the forum in February.
International experts will join an influential community of heads of state, government ministers, academics, clinicians, policy makers and business leaders at the forum to look for innovative solutions to some of the most pressing global health challenges, organisers said.
Ahead of the summit, Wish has appointed L Suzanne Suggs, associate professor of social marketing and Head of BeCHANGE Research Group, Institute for Public Communication, at the Universita della Svizzera italiana, Lugano, Switzerland, to chair its Communicating Complex Health Messages Forum.
Professor Suggs will lead a multi-disciplinary working group to produce evidence-based research and recommendations to address the key challenges facing policy makers, governments and other groups responsible for communicating difficult and complex health policy issues.
The forum will assess complex health and analyse how communication differs between non-complex and complex health issues with different audiences, identify the role of information and communication technology (ICT) and media in communication and societal debate on issues of health policy and emphasise the role and responsibilities of politicians, health care professionals, celebrities and other opinion formers in the communication of health policy.
It will also develop a policy framework for designing effective health communication
“This Forum is an exciting opportunity to bring together academics, industry leaders, and policy makers to discuss how complex health issues can be communicated effectively to the public and key decision makers,” Suggs said. “Diverse perspectives will open up new insights into how messages spread, using both traditional media and newer forms of communication, and we look forward to delivering a range of innovative and impactful policy recommendations at Wish 2015.”
Professor The Lord Darzi of Denham, Executive Chair of Wish and Director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College of London, said that the communication of science, and health policy in particular, to the public was a major policy issue.
“Defining the future of health care communication that will tackle this issue would be beneficial to all countries all over the globe, including Qatar,” he said. “Dissemination of accurate, trustworthy, relevant and timely information on health policy matters is critical to improving population health and wellbeing. As well as public health messages, governments and health system leaders need to communicate the rationale and need for innovation and change in health and health care delivery models in a dynamic and fast-changing political, social and media environment,” he said.
