Understanding illnesses through a film festival: An observational study

Abstract

Audio-visual materials play a fundamental role in the context of education, care and clinical treatment, as they seem to have a high impact on public awareness. This study aims to describe what messages are perceived by the society at an International Festival of Short Films and Art on Diseases that may help to understand difficult topics, such as illness, dying and suffering. Through an observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study, using full participant observation and an open, self-administered questionnaire, 32 short films were analysed during a healthcare art festival. Categories were developed using inductive content analysis. The message perceived by the participants, after the viewing of the shorts and reflection of the debates among the attendees, were considered in four categories: i) creative and positive education is possible; ii) awareness of preconception and practical duties; iii) meaning of life changes the experience of illness; iv) family and caregivers also experienced suffering. The short films are considered as an excellent tool to generate social dialogue and debate. Public events can be understood as an opportunity to acquire, in an emotional and critical manner, other competencies for public awareness. Together, they are capable of communicating difficult messages through a fast, positive, and creative way.

Vórtex

“…Os filmes podem emprestar visões e ensinar lições valiosas sobre o âmago dos sentimentos, bem como ajustar lentes sociais para facilitar a compreensão da realidade. 8 Vórtex, ao exibir um processo de finitude na década de 2020 com seu tom documental, cumpre bem essa função. Desse drama se podem extrair semelhanças e diferenças com as histórias encontradas na prática clínica diária.…”

Health Knowledge, Awareness & Social Stigma as Reflected in Egyptian Drama - HIV/AIDS as Paradigm

“…(Buccli & Trench. 2008) (11) Audiovisual materials play a fundamental role in the context of education, care and clinical treatment, as content seem to deal highly with health awareness (Reigada et al.2019). (12) Films related to themes of disease and contagion often fall under the category fantasy, science fiction, or horror.…”

Students' conceptions of health: A cross educational stage survey

“…The transition in the goals of health promotion noted above can be understood as an expansion of focus; emphasis has shifted from longer life to better life. As life expectancies have increased, the prevalence of common mental disorders may be increasing, and difficulties in diagnosing them have gained attention (Reigada et al, 2019). From a biomedical point of view, "longer life" means decreasing the mortality rates caused by diseases and increasing freedom from pain or disabilities.…”

“…This may reflect the urgent need for social networking among young people. Social media should be targeted as a greater resource in the promotion of health issues, as recent studies explained that social media, such as films and internet use, have proved to be influential for affecting people's conceptions of health (Reigada et al, 2019;Dibb, 2019). Furthermore, the physical and social dimensions can be observed as explicit behaviors, while phenomena that fall within the mental dimension are rather implicit and not always easily observed.…”