The importance of waiting rooms for health literacy and communication

development of an instrument and analysis of patients’ perspectives

Authors

  • Sara Henriques CICANT – Research Centre in Applied Communication, Culture, and New Technologies, Lusófona University
  • Diana Pinheiro WFCMS – World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies
  • Patrícia Martins ARSLVT – Regional Health Administration of Lisbon and Tagus Valley

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4000/cp.11337

Keywords:

waiting room, health literacy, health education, health promotion, communication

Abstract

This paper discusses the potential of waiting rooms and circulation areas in ACES – Health Center Cluster Units, which henceforth will only be mentioned as “health units”, as privileged spaces for health promotion and for increasing health literacy. In a firstphase, an instrument of exploratory, qualitative, descriptive analysis was developed and applied in five health units. In the second phase, semi-structured interviews were applied to 45 patients of health units. These interviews collected patient’s opinions, perceptions and attitudes about the waiting room and its facilities and the attitudes towards health information shared in these spaces.
This work offers a holistic perspective based on direct and indirect observation of waiting room spaces in health units. An instrument that intends to work as an internal tool to support the self-management and continuous improvement of the quality of waiting spaces is available in this work.

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Author Biographies

  • Sara Henriques, CICANT – Research Centre in Applied Communication, Culture, and New Technologies, Lusófona University

    PhD candidate in Communication Sciences at Lusófona University, funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). Holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Psychology, with a postgraduate degree in Health Literacy from ISPA – Instituto Universitário. Researcher in Communication Sciences at CICANT/ULHT and Assistant Professor in Applied Communication and Communication and Culture Sciences. Her current research focuses on health communication and the potential of media as tools to facilitate health promotion, with a strong interest in research methodologies, data analysis methods, models, visualization, and interpretation of data.

  • Diana Pinheiro, WFCMS – World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies

    Postgraduate in Health Literacy, ISPA – Instituto Universitário. Vice-President of the Pediatrics Committee of the WFCMS – World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies. Graduated from ESMTC – School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Portugal, and Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, China. Teaching at ESMTC since 2006. Co-author of Pinheiro, D. & Juvenal, G. (2016). Alquimia dos Sabores: Guia para uma Alimentação saudável (2nd ed.). Lisbon: Dinalivro. Her current research interests focus on communication and health literacy, emphasizing the therapeutic relationship and empowering patients and health professionals for more effective health decision-making.

  • Patrícia Martins, ARSLVT – Regional Health Administration of Lisbon and Tagus Valley

    Master’s degree in Community Nursing from the Institute of Health Sciences, Portuguese Catholic University. Postgraduate in Health Literacy: Models, Strategies, and Intervention from ISPA – Instituto Universitário de Ciências Psicológicas, Sociais e da Vida. Postgraduate in Care for Persons with Dementia from the Calouste Gulbenkian Higher School of Nursing, Lisbon. Board member of the Portuguese Association for the Promotion of Public Health. Specialist Nurse in Community Nursing at ARSLVT, working at the Arnaldo Sampaio Public Health Unit, ACES Arco Ribeirinho. Project manager of Viver Mais com Saber – Health Literacy.

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Published

2020-12-15

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 29 (2020): Number with Special Issue

Section

Special Dossier: Communicating Health – Fundamentals and Practices Towards a Bet

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Copyright (c) 2020 Direitos de Autor (c) 2020

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Os conteúdos da Comunicação Pública estão licenciados com uma licença Creative Commons - Atribuição-NãoComercial 4.0 Internacional.

How to Cite

The importance of waiting rooms for health literacy and communication: development of an instrument and analysis of patients’ perspectives . (2020). Comunicação Pública, 15(29). https://doi.org/10.4000/cp.11337