CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

We can think about the concept of health from a scientific, clinical, or social perspective. In each context, there are particular languages and frameworks that delineate a certain knowledge-making process. Another level of analysis lies in the way in which we construct meaning and learn about health from a sensorial or an aesthetic perspective. Therefore, how can we speak about health without words? Is there a way to build an interdisciplinary network to discuss what helps me be healthy? In other words, is it possible to use art to create links between people located in different geographical regions, and allow them to talk about the concept of health? The session ?How to speak about health without words?? was held as part of the 5th Latin American Conference and the 4th Inter-American Conference on Health Promotion and Education (Mexico, April 2012). The activity was organized and coordinated by members of the IUHPE Student and Early Career Network (ISECN) located around the world. From the concerns raised within the group over potential communication barriers due to the different languages we used and the difficulty of simultaneous translation, we created a participatory and multi-media session where we invited participants to engage in reflection on the possible form(s) and way(s) of communicating in health promotion, and the strategies that could allow us to overcome the communication barriers inherent in cultural and other differences. We presented research that used various media to communicate health; shared sounds and children?s drawings representing health from different corners of the world, and created a collective mural during the activity. Using the video created after the session, we will share lessons from the experience and invite conference participants to discuss the importance, value, and opportunities for using alternative presentation formats in sharing research and health information.