1st Talking Healthcare Around the World

This online conference brings together academics, clinicians and practitioners from a wide variety of fields, for a collaborative, multidisciplinary exploration of the ways in which the pandemic has impacted healthcare, and healthcare communication. Themes and issues for the conference include, but are not limited to:

Stream A: Healthcare, communication and the pandemic

We welcome papers exploring any aspect of healthcare or healthcare communication, and the coronavirus pandemic. Paper could address, but are not limited to: diversity, ethnicity, gender, language, age, neurodiversity, or other element of identity; healthcare experiences, delivery and/or outcomes; multilinguality in healthcare settings; health literacy and/or numeracy; practitioner or caregiver team interactions; patient-practitioner/caregiver interactions; patient empowerment; translation and interpreting in healthcare settings; legal issues, workplace realities, job requirements, performance assessment; and the roles and functions of communication in public health.

Stream B: Communication and end-of-life care

How can we use communication to improve geriatric care? In managing health and wellness in elderly care? For pain management? In handling specific conditions such as poor eyesight or hearing, diabetes and cancer? In cases of cognitive decline? What is the role of communication in the psychosocial wellbeing of older people, particularly in cases of restricted mobility, loneliness, social isolation, and loss? How can we improve the quality of end-of-life care? What role does communication take in this? How can we educate practitioners and caregivers for this? What role does language play in supporting family members and friends? How does this differ, in matters of culture and identity? In what ways do contexts such as palliative care homes and hospices impact communication? How has the coronavirus pandemic impacted end-of-life care?

Stream C: Communication and emergency care

What is the role of communication in urgent and emergency care? Where are the problems and gaps, impacting the delivery of successful outcomes? In follow-ups? What problems do clinicians and practitioners face, in communicating across platforms, media, teams, cultures, identities and other issues, in trying to deliver emergency care? What communication errors may be identified? How can they be handled? What practices are used and how do they impact patient safety? What can be taught, and how? How has the coronavirus pandemic impacted emergency care? What happens to emergency communication, in the situation of a pandemic?