New podcast: How children's health literacy can shape the future of global health (2)
Dear Lilanga and all,
I saw your interview with Dr Gaya and I would like to congratulate you and Children for Health for a wonderful podcast. I congratulate your predecessor Clare Hanbury, with whom I have worked for many years, for her wonderful succession planning. I know she is supporting you behind the scenes!
I urge others to see the podcost:
Two quotes in particular resonated with me:
Dr Gaya Gamhewage, Director of Communications at the World Health Organization: I remain concerned that we are not using basic knowledge on how people acquire and use information to have a healthy and long life.
Dr Lilanga Hasini Batawalage, CEO of Children for Health: For me, effective health communication starts long before we communicate. It begins with an understanding what information people actually need and also what evidence exist and how that information can be best translated into something meaningful and actionable for a specific audience.
For more discussion of these and related points I invite you to read my 2012 paper: Towards a Collective Understanding of the Information Needs of Health Care Providers in Low-Income Countries, and How to Meet Them. J Health Communication. Volume 17, 2012 - Issue sup2:
Towards a Collective Understanding of the Information Needs of Health Care Providers in Low-Income Countries, and How to Meet Them, Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives, 17:sup2, 9-17
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10810730.2012.666627
Abstract: Poor knowledge among health care providers (including health workers and citizens) leads to poor health outcomes. This article discusses current linear research-to-practice paradigms and argues that these approaches are not meeting the needs of health care providers in low- and middle-income countries. It suggests a broader, needs-led approach. This approach must look beyond perceived needs and identify actual needs in relation to knowledge and practice, including learning needs and point-of-use needs...
In these settings, the needs are indeed often basic and associated with profound knowledge disempowerment.
The work of Children For Health, building on the late David Morley's work with Child-to-Child, is inspirational.
Best wishes, Neil
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org