L’operatore dell’Ufficio Relazioni con il Pubblico (U.R.P.) in ambito socio-sanitario e la comunicazione educativa e interculturale

Abstract

The (URP) operator of the Public Relations Office in the health care system educative intercultural communication

This work describes some aspects related to the role and the competencies of a communication officer working in a communication and public relations area in the health care system. The communication in the public sector, origins from the centrality of the concept of communication itself, that has brought public administrations to consider it as an essential resource for whichever institution that need to inform a general public including the health care system. Especially when we need to communicate about health care it’s necessary to have a more sensitive approach. There are difficulties to convey a ethically correct message in giving the right information and overcoming the complexity of medical terms, due to the large number of information available or because of cultural differences. In providing a communication services in the health care sector is essential to be able to assess different variety of people, bearing in mind the real need of the audience and adapt to cultures diversity. We will see as the assumption of the bio-psycho-social model enables to consider the patient globally; the idea is that the treatment starts from the information supported by health operator. Therefore the communication and pubblic relation operator plays a key role because they can give, to the communication and relation with the patient, an educational imprint, by using their communication and relationship skills they could be able to produce a change towards a better context for the patient that usually expresses some sort of discomfort. The goal is to lead the patient to overcome this discomfort area with an educational message and not only taking care of the therapeutically side in order to supports self-sufficiency and lead to empowerment and possibly more involvement through the different counselling and listening structures arranged by the public administration. To this regards we consider that a communication officer’s key skill, apart from the technical and professional competencies, it’s the ability to “educate”.