Jitendra Khanna

(1)

14 World Health • SOth Year, No. 6, November-December 1997

Helping scientists to improve their communication skills

Jitendra Khanna

H

ealth research helps to generate new knowledge to solve health problems. However, maximum benefit from research is achieved only when the new knowledge is transmitted rapidly to all who can use it. The UNDP/UNFPA/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction (HRP) believes that a health researcher's job is not over until the research findings have been reviewed by other scientists and published, and have been transmitted in a user-friendly format to health policy-makers and the general public.

Unfortunately, the advanced training that researchers undergo in their fields seldom includes writing scientific research papers or communicating effectively with the general public. The latter in particular re- quires specialized training as it often involves communicating difficult scientific concepts through the mass media to lay audiences. In developing countries, where literacy levels and coverage of the media are low and science journalism is not well established, communicating science poses a considerable challenge.

A mock inteNiew taking place during a recent WHO communication workshop for reproductive health researchers held in New Delhi. Photo WHO/OMehta

Since its establishment in 1972 HRP has been helping developing countries to strengthen their capacity to conduct research in reproductive health. Many developing countries have benefited from this support and have set up institutions that conduct valuable research of national interest.

Unfortunately, a lot of the new knowledge generated by this research never leaves the laboratory because many scientists find it difficult to write and publish papers and to communicate with the media.

Most science journals around the world - even in many developing countries - are in English, and few researchers have the skills to write good papers in English. On top of that, there is stiff competition to publish papers in good science journals and poorly prepared papers have little chance of being accepted even if the science is good.

A small proportion of the research conducted in developing countries does get published. But this does not guarantee that policy- makers and the general public will hear about it. Much knowledge is doomed to remain locked up in libraries and research institutions.

Many scientists do not see it as their responsibility to inform the public about their work. Moreover, lack of knowledge of the process of communication hampers the efforts they may make.

To help bring the research findings out from the dusty files and computer databases and make them available to health planners, HRP conducts workshops in scientific writing and science communication in research institutions in developing countries. So far 16 scientific paper writing and four science communication workshops have been conducted in 11 countries. In 1995 a survey of the impact of the scientific paper

writing workshops in Latin America showed that, after attending the workshops, researchers published more papers than before and were more confident of their ability to prepare papers for publication in learned national and international journals.

In the science communication workshops the main objectives are to make researchers aware of the prin- ciples of communication and show them how to communicate effectively with the media. The workshops include both researchers and journalists and seek to build trust

and strengthen networking among them. This is very important as many scientists avoid contact with the press because they believe journalists favour sensationalism over accuracy. On the other hand, journalists complain that scientists present their ideas in language that non- scientists cannot understand.

HRP's experience with the science communication workshops has been very positive. Scientists taking part often express amazement that there is so much to learn about communication and that appropriate

"packaging" of information can mean so much to the impact of the message. Many journalists say that after discussing science reporting with the scientists they are able to appreciate better the researchers' concerns about accuracy. Both agree that they have a vital role to play in health promotion and that they need to collaborate in this endeavour. •

Mr Jitendra Khanna is Technical Officer (Com- munication and Information Dissemination), UNDP /UNFPA/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction, World Health Organization, l 2 l l Geneva 27, Switzerland.