Presidente da SPLS participa em conferência internacional a convite do Dr. Mattia Peradotto, do Governo italiano, e do Dr. Lee Hibard, do Conselho da Europa
A Professora Doutora Cristina Vaz de Almeida, Presidente da Sociedade Portuguesa de Literacia em Saúde (SPLS), foi convidada como oradora na conferência internacional intitulada “Health Literacy and Human Rights – Connecting Policy with Practice to Promote Inclusion and Combat Discrimination”. O convite surgiu Dr. Lee Hibard, do Conselho da Europa, e do diretor-geral do Gabinete Nacional Contra a Discriminação Racial de Itália, Dr. Mattia Peradotto, e foi realizado no dia 5 de dezembro de 2024, em Roma, das 9h às 18h (horário de Itália).
Organizada pelo Gabinete Nacional Contra a Discriminação Racial de Itália em colaboração com o Conselho da Europa e com o apoio do Ministério da Família, Natalidade e Igualdade de Oportunidades de Itália, a conferência reuniu especialistas de renome para discutir estratégias de promoção da inclusão e combate à discriminação por meio da literacia em saúde.
A Presidente da SPLS teve a oportunidade de contribuir com sua experiência em políticas e práticas de literacia em saúde, reafirmando o papel de Portugal como referência nesta área. O evento foi transmitido ao vivo e gravado, permitindo amplo acesso ao público internacional.
Também o Professor Doutor Miguel Arriaga, da Direção-Geral da Saúde, marcou presença neste evento. O painel abordou a promoção da inclusão no combate à discriminação na sociedade.
Esta participação reflete o reconhecimento do trabalho desenvolvido pela SPLS na promoção da saúde como um direito humano fundamental.
Speech Cristina Vaz de Almeida, President SPLS (Portuguese Health Literacy Society)
Buon pomeriggio a tutti.
Desidero salutare il panel in cui mi trovo nella persona del Professor Stephan vandenbroucke , così come i miei colleghi e ringraziare in particolare il Direttore Generale dell ‘ Ufficio Nazionale Contro la Discriminazione Razziale d’Italia,Dott. Mattia Peradotto, e il Direttore Lee Hibbard, della Divisione Diritti Umani e Biomedicina, Direzione Diritti Umani, del Consiglio d’Europa, Preofessora Kristine Sorensen, Prof Miguel Arriaga e Dr. Lorenzo Montrasio (UNAR).
Per me è un grande privilegio poter discutere di un argomento che è nella mia agenda quotidiana, e che vede una luce di conciliazione di volontà , tra così tante persone che lottano in modo simile a me e la società portoghese dell’alfabetizzazione sanitaria. È un piacere essere a Roma. Grazie mille per questo invito.
Introdurrò le prime parole in italiano per poi passare all’inglese.
L’alfabetizzazione sanitaria consiste nel preservare la fiducia.
È per preservare la sicurezza.
Serve a preservare l’accessibilità.
È quello di investire nel cambiamento del comportamento con la scienza del comportamento.
Si tratta di proteggere e difendere i diritti umani.
Le persone hanno bisogno di cambiare con azioni semplici e chiare, a piccoli passi.
Health literacy is about preserving trust and safety.
Its to invest in behavior change with the behavior science.
It is to protect and defend human rights.
People need to change with simple, clear actions, in small steps
Health literacy experts know the science of behavior and know the strategies, principles and models that allow individuals and groups to change their behaviors for more included and socially integrated experiences.
Health literacy experts can help structure more effective public policies, because they know and they are adapted to the real needs of people and target groups.
They work directly on change behaviour and listen to the voices of citizens.
Health literacy experts must work with policy makers. These experts bridge the gap between citizens, stakeholders and legislators.
In Portugal we have a national plan for health literacy and knowledge of behavior, in which I participated with great pride
We have defined, in this plan, the use of a very practical model – the COM B model – skills, motivation and opportunity – for behaviour (Michie et al 200’6) opens doors to intervention.
Fighting discrimination needs previous steps, which is to know which populations feel discriminated against and the reasons for this fact.
Promoting inclusion is meeting the expectations of populations that feel the need to be included, and that for various multifactorial and multi-domain reasons, are not.
We know the laws.
We have good laws to fight discrimination.
So why doesn’t this happen?
Never before has the world, organizations and researchers had so much data on inequalities.
Throughout the life cycle.
- We have data on the millions of girls and women without education
- we have data on domestic violence and woman deaths and injured (140 women are killed every day by their close relatives)
- We know that economic deprivation is a predictor of more obese populations, with more hypertension, more diabetes, more cardiovascular and oncological diseases. The data speak for themselves.
And with so much data, what needs to be done?
We need to listen more to citizens and make interventions tailored to their needs. Invest more in health literacy, which promotes greater empower. This has been our work at the Portuguese Society for Health Literacy.
Health literacy allows working with all stakeholders. Those who feel discriminated against, and those who discriminate.
Everyone counts.
In this sense, it is necessary to give a voice to everyone, especially those who are most vulnerable- older people, people with disabilities, people from different cultures, people in economic need, women and children. To know precisely what the problem is, what the belief, what the barrier, what is the opportunity.
The mini-assemblies of health, based on scientific methods (organized by the Portuguese Society of Health Literacy) with more vulnerable populations showed the power of the citizen’s voice.
To give a voice is to invest in basic rights to lincrease people’s empowerment. Listening and sharing their needs is a starting point for securing better rights. These mini-assemblies are organized on the basis of meaningful scientific methods such as the nominal group technique
These interventions must be carried out in a network, with municipalities, patient associations, social and health associations of community intervention.
They have a very positive effect on vulnerable populations, which are generally little listened to.
Everyone should have a voice and not be replaced.
Health literacy is like a hurricane, in the eye of a transformation of the rights of the person
Non ci può essere regolamentazione, politica pubblica o legge que non soddisfano esattamente i bisogni delle persone e i loro problemi , in modo da poter promuovere un accesso equo, la comprensione e l’uso corretto delle risorse sanitarie. Mille Grazie.
Cristina Vaz de Almeida
A contribution from my friend Ana Paula Reis, one dinamic portuguese activist
I am going to talk trough the voice of Ana Paula Reis
She fell from the 8th floor and survicved
Today she is a person with a physical disability aho is a great acivist in Portugal.
She’s a good friend and I asked her for a sentence/idea that was very meaninful to her about the human rights of people with disabilities who have represented here. It reads as follow:
World Society must reflect with empathy and sensoivity on “difference”. And respect it. I wish above al that we continue to fight for na improvenment on behaviors and attitudes. We must involve vulnerable groups to not perpetuate marginalization. To gove a voice top people is to invest in basic rights to increase peoples’s empowerment
