Health via Art, Media, Storytelling: Design Implications of a Freirean Framework

ABSTRACT

The framework seeks to acknowledge and minimize risks of 1) simultaneous, negative health-impacts, and 2) reinforcing Freirean oppression and health inequalities via health-oriented media. Media can be accessed to resolve one’s complex landscape of socially-imposed tasks and self-determined tasks. Health messaging, therefore, may be present but deprioritized - when marginalized audiences face more pressing socially-imposed tasks such as basic livelihood. There is value in exploring and minimizing connotations in health media which reinforce social-impositions; glamorize potentially-harmful personal goals; and obfuscate the combined totality of tasks an individual faces. Additionally, health-media creators may consider how power and privilege is presented, as the overriding societal perspective is that power and privilege can resolve all tasks in life - thus entrenching individuals in pursuit of privilege over pursuit of health outcomes. The framework highlights that media may bring any of the negative impacts above while holding valid health messaging simultaneously. Furthermore, the same piece of health-media may not always bring identical levels of health-benefits to privileged and marginalized communities. How health media may reduce 1) inequitable distribution of health benefits and burdens according to existing inequalities and 2) eliminate unintended negative messaging which occur alongside positive messaging are outlined for consideration.

Acknowledgments

This paper is funded in part by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.