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Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Using Visual and Narrative Methods to Achieve Fair Process in Clinical Care
Published on: February 16, 2011
Improving health communication. Supporting the practice of health communication
Giovanna F Miranda1, Luisa Vercellesi, Edoardo Pozzi
1Research Centre Sanofi Midy, Sanofi-Aventis Spa, Milan, Italy. giovanna.miranda@sanofi-aventis.com
Background:
Health authorities, hospitals, commercial enterprises, and mass media all deliver health and medical communication in different forms. With such a vast amount of biomedical and clinical information available, any action to ensure the spread of clinically relevant news items is welcome.
Objectives:
This paper tries to define a new role for health science librarians in improving medical communication and reporting.
Methods:
Literature relating to the health and medical reporting is analysed to identify major difficulties encountered by health communicators.
Results:
There are two areas where health science librarians can develop new roles in health communication: (i) supporting journalists and health communicators in selecting sources and understanding scientific papers, and (ii) directly translating scientific information into news items, supplying a list of products in this direction (i.e. targeted newsletters, media releases, news items). New skills and competencies needed to cope with the new roles are described in detail in a suggested academic curriculum for health communicators.
Conclusions:
A better understanding of the mass media's needs can provide much needed support in the field of health communication.
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