WORLD HEALTH COMMUNICATION ASSOCIATES

This meeting was convened to explore what role, if any, professional journals, as principal communication resources of many national medical, nursing and pharmacy associations, could play in a global/local campaign aimed at enhancing patient health competencies. To this end a range of national medical, nursing and pharmacist journal editors was gathered in Helsinki on the occasion of the WHO European Ministerial Conference on Mental Health. Journal strengths identified included perceived trustworthiness, editorial independence, and reliability as an evidence-based source. Weaknesses noted included proprietary nature of some journals, inaccessible technical language, intra-professional focus, healthcare rather than health focus, and the lack of input from patient users. Many opportunities for enhancing journal involvement were discussed including reframing ways of reporting on different illnesses (eg combating stigma related to mental health), creating platforms for patient voices, developing professional media advocacy capacities, networking, and opportunistic action. Please see Articles for copies of the Consultation Paper, Scope & Purpose, Programme and Report of the meeting.

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