Truthful information can save lives in contexts of war or crisis. Prestigious celebrities such as Andrés Iniesta, Ricky Rubio or Michael J. Fox are exceptional ambassadors to raise public awareness about diseases or to promote health-related initiatives. In addition, it is essential to promote the Arts in Health to improve patients’ well-being in a context of constant humanization of healthcare institutions that are increasingly technological. 

These are some of the conclusions of the 2nd International Congress on Health Communication, held over two days at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, and which was attended by more than 500 people, both in person and online, coming from institutions in the healthcare field-whether communicators, health professionals or journalists. With the support of the European University Hospital Alliance (EUHA) and the main collaboration of Medtronic, as well as the Vila Casas Foundation and Blanquerna – Ramon Llull University, the Congress has consolidated itself in this second edition as a reference forum for analyzing the main challenges and opportunities that health communication poses in the current global context.

The stars of the second edition of the International Congress on Health Communication were Andrés Iniesta and Ricky Rubio, who discussed on Friday the role of celebrities as ambassadors in health, in their case as football and basketball stars respectively. “Thanks to Andrés Iniesta’s testimony in his book, where he spoke openly about his mental health problems, I went back to playing basketball”, acknowledged Ricky Rubio during the congress. For his part, Andrés Iniesta explained that for him “the most important thing is to help people from his privileged position". The two legends spoke about their contribution to the world of health from the point of view of raising awareness, collaboration with health-related entities and causes such as Vall d’Hebron, and their personal example of experience with mental health. Ricky Rubio, at the head of the Ricky Rubio Foundation, and Andrés Iniesta, collaborating with various brands and international organizations.

Before the interview, in the session 'The role of celebrities as Health Ambassadors', Rebecca Thomas spoke, explaining the impact on British society of the fact that Princess Kate Middleton and King Charles of England spoke openly about their cancers from their experience in The Independent. Thomas Perlmann, Secretary General of the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institutet, reflected on how the Nobel Prizes change the lives of the laureates and their scientific fields. And Holly Teichholtz, Marketing Director of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, explained how actor Michael J. Fox promotes research and has broken the taboo that has historically surrounded neurodegenerative diseases. In addition, the session served to hear the experience of the Cleveland Clinic with Tora Vinci, Head of Global Communications, who presented the strategies to maintain it as one of the most prestigious healthcare brands in the world in all the annual rankings.

Communication in situations of war and emergency

The 2nd International Congress on Health Communication took into account current affairs. The first session dealt with communication in situations of war and emergency. Youmna El Sayed, an Egyptian-Palestinian journalist awarded for her coverage of the Gaza conflict, and Rachel Pounds, head of the Emergency Health Unit of Save the Children, concluded that communication can save lives and that its absence can cost them. Moderated by Bhanu Bhatnagar, Head of Press and Media Relations of the Regional Office for Europe of the World Health Organization (WHO), Niina Kauppinen, Director of Helsinki University Hospital (HUS), then took the floor, stressing that one should not wait for a crisis to happen in order to have an action plan, but rather anticipate different scenarios and train crisis plans, such as those historically developed because of being a border with Russia.

The Ukraine conflict was discussed by journalist Angelina Kariakina, Dr. Taras Petryk, Medical Director of the Opora Orthopaedics and Trauma Clinic in Kyiv, as well as his son, Dr. Vladyslav Petryk, physician at the same hospital in Kyiv. Angelina Kariakina, who has a son and is pregnant, recalled that maternal and child hospitals have been targeted by the Russian army — something that should never happen. The Petryk doctors highlighted the difficulty of practicing medicine when hospitals cease to be safe places.

'Social networks: to be or not to be' was the next topic. Víctor Puig, Director of Zinkdo Agency, presented a report on the digital presence of European health institutions and highlighted the need to continuously review the use of social networks, since dynamics change constantly. The next speakers were Kathrin Schneider, Social Media Advisor at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, and An Schreurs, Head of Scientific Communication at UZ Leuven, who emphasized the potential of LinkedIn to reach a professional audience and of other networks such as Instagram or Facebook to connect emotionally with the general public.

Germán Gutiérrez, Director of Integrated Health Solutions at Medtronic and Director of Digital Health and Innovation in the EMEA region, explored in his talk how digitalization has facilitated care beyond the walls of the hospital, transforming the provision of healthcare services. One example is Medtronic’s Better@Home project, which combines technology, services and clinical coordination.

The Arts in Health were the focus of the next thematic block. Guillem d’Efak, Head of Community Action, Public Programs and Communication at the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC), introduced Laki Vazakas from Boston Children’s Hospital, who highlighted the power of art to put oneself in the patients’ shoes. For his part, Louis Gustin, writer and disability advisor, explained how, after a stroke at age 24 that caused aphasia, he recovered speech step by step. Ten years later, he has built a professional career to connect people who go through similar situations. Rachel Even, Artistic Director of Art dans la Cité, argued that art helps in recovery processes. Stephen Stapleton, Co-Director of the Jameel Arts & Health Lab and Founder and CEO of Culturunners, defended AI understood as the Artist’s Intuition, which acts as the antenna of society. Dr. Anna Fàbregas, Head of the EMMA Team at Vall d’Hebron, presented the co-creation process of a song made between artist Mushkaa and adolescent victims of sexual violence as part of their recovery at Vall d’Hebron. “Art reaches where doctors do not”, summarized Dr. Fàbregas.

The new professional profiles and tools were also analyzed, with Bant Breen, CEO of Qnary and communication expert; Maya Fedeli, from the EU Citizen Science and Project Communication Team; José Antonio Rodríguez, communication strategy specialist at Jelliby; Freja Annamatz, Head of Communication at the Karolinska University Hospital; and Winni Johansen, from the Department of Corporate and Crisis Communication at Aarhus University. The speakers explained how incorporating new tools, such as AI assistants or metrics, is essential to improve communication strategies, in addition to the importance of internal communication in the current context and the role of citizen science.

The next speaker was Gema Revuelta, Director of the Center for Studies on Science, Communication and Society at Pompeu Fabra University (CCS-UPF), who presented the Quiral Report, a research study carried out jointly with the Vila Casas Foundation. Every year they analyze the topics that generate the most interest. This year, the Quiral Report analyzes what women know about their reproductive and sexual health and detects important information gaps.
Then it was the turn of health marketing campaigns. Kate Torrance, Vice President of the SickKids Foundation, carried out a campaign that raised 1.7 billion Canadian dollars destined for the new campus of the Foundation. For her part, Muntsa Dachs, strategic consultant, analyzed how in recent years traditional advertisements compete for public attention with influencers.

“The challenge of this second edition was to maintain and improve the level of the first. In a global context like the one we are living in, with wars and extreme situations, our sector must adapt to changes, as our speakers have demonstrated”" stated Fran Garcia, Director of Communication, Corporate Strategy and Citizen Services. The second edition had the support of the European University Hospital Alliance (EUHA) and the main collaboration of Medtronic, as well as the Vila Casas Foundation and Blanquerna – Ramon Llull University. Barcelona Turisme, Noel, Borges and Sodexo also collaborated.