The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) have jointly launched the International Research Centre for Communication in Healthcare (ICCH) with the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) on 24 June at the Second Symposium on Healthcare Communication in Hong Kong, which is also hosted by PolyU. The new Centre will encourage world-class research and practice and seek to improve communication in healthcare.
The ICCH launching ceremony was officiated at by Professor Sophia Chan, Under Secretary for Food and Health of the HKSAR Government; Professor John Daly, Dean of Faculty of Health, and Professor Mary Spongberg, Dean of Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of UTS; Professor Timothy W. Tong, PolyU President, and Professor Alexander Wai Ping-kong, PolyU Vice President (Research Development).
Welcoming this exciting initiative, Dr Elizabeth Rider of Harvard University and Chair of the ICCH External Advisory Committee said that ICCH has already received tremendous international support, “Since its inception, there are over 50 members from more than 10 countries around the world. It is the first time that an international group of healthcare communication experts and leaders have come together to try to solve the increasing problem of communication breakdowns, medical error, avoidable patient harm and escalating patient and clinician dissatisfaction.”
The Director of ICCH, Professor Diana Slade, said there was now irrefutable evidence that communication is central to effective and safe healthcare delivery, “Poor and ineffective communication at all levels of the healthcare system leads to poor patient outcomes, including serious illness and death and increasing clinician dissatisfaction.”
By bringing together internationally renowned scholars, researchers, nurses, doctors and teachers, the ICCH will provide a unique and dynamic site for members to share and collaborate on existing and future health communication research, international and local health policy and health education curricula development.
One of the first initiatives of the Centre is the development of an International Charter for Human Values in Healthcare. The International Charter aims to restore the universal core values that should be present in every healthcare interaction. These basic human values include (1) Compassion; (2) Respect for persons; (3) Commitment to integrity and ethical practice; (4) Commitment to excellence; and (5) Justice in healthcare.
The Charter’s five underlying values embody the spirit essential to the delivery of compassionate and safe healthcare. The ICCH is encouraging all health practitioners and professional health associations to become signatories to the Charter in order to promote a relationship-centred approach to health care.
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Professor Diana Slade
Department of English
Tel: (852) 2766 5602
Email: [email protected]
