Communicating Health and Wellness at the 4th NCRC

Screengrab from https://www.ncrc.ph

The National Communication Research Conference (NCRC) is taking the health route this year. Following the saying ‘‘health is wealth’’, the 4th NCRC has for its theme, “Communicating Health, Wellness, and Leisure”.

The fourth annual conference will be held Feb. 16-17, 2015, once again at the University of the Philippines’ College of Mass Communication in Diliman, Quezon City. Opening ceremonies of the conference will be at the UP Cine Adarna on Monday, Feb. 16.

Expected to draw hundreds of journalism and communication educators and students from various colleges and universities nationwide, the conference will feature research papers about how health, wellness, and leisure have been communicated.

As stated in the call for papers, the “media – be they the conventional mass channels or the new and emerging information and communication technologies – are powerful platforms for advertisers to push their products. The same communication and media channels have successfully raised awareness of health-related issues, facilitated beneficial behavior changes, and ultimately helped people live healthier, safer, and more fulfilling lives. No doubt, communication and media play important and strategic roles.”

One of the highlights of the two-day event is the competition for outstanding research papers.

Dr. Julie Lyn Hall, representative of the World Health Organization to the Philippines, will deliver the keynote address during the opening program on Feb. 16. She will be joined by plenary speakers, Dr. Fernando Paragas, returning faculty of UP CMC from Nanyang Technological University, and Prof. Smith Boonchutima of Chulalongkorn University who will deliver research-based papers about the communication of health and wellness. Dr. Eric Tayag of the Department of Health will also be a plenary speaker.

“Being healthy is more than just being free of illness and injury,” said Conference Director Dr. Elena Pernia of the UP Communication Research Department. “Note for example, the WHO’s definition of health as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Following this definition, she said, complete well-being should be seen as the result of interaction of medical, environmental, social, political, and economic factors.

On NCRC’s 4th year, Communication Research Department of the University of the Philippines is again partnering with the Philippine Association of Communication Educators (PACE) and Philippines Communication Society (PCS). Students, teachers, communication and media practitioners are invited to pre-register online.

Please see the conference website, ncrc.ph, and the official NCRC Facebook page, fb.com/nationalcommresconference, for details. Inquiries may be sent to [email protected].