Luanda: Researcher Jos© Oct¡vio Van-Dºnem advocated on Sunday in Luanda for clear, accessible, and transparent communication among professionals, patients, and institutions, aiming to build trust and improve the quality of national health services. Speaking at the "National Workshop on Health Communication"-under the theme "Communication, ethics, leadership, and human development"-he identified the national health system's communication paradigm as the first therapeutic act and a key element in humanizing services within the sector.
According to Angola Press News Agency, the expert stated that communicating means caring, clarifying, reassuring, guiding, and comforting. "Before any exam, medication, or surgery, there is always the initial contact to establish the trust essential to the therapeutic process," he said. He highlighted active listening, empathy, respect, and clear language as essential elements for ethical and humanized communication.
He emphasized the importance of respecting the country's cultural and linguistic diversity so that messages regarding prevention, vaccination, and treatment effectively reach communities. Jos© Oct¡vio Van-Dºnem stated that transparency and accountability must be part of routine operations to reduce citizens' mistrust of the health system.
He noted that technological advances, including digitalization and artificial intelligence, should serve to expand access without losing sight of dignity and human connection. "Institutions do not give dignity to the person; it is the person who gives meaning to the existence of institutions," he affirmed.
He also called for continuous training in ethical leadership and communication, as well as for the valuing of health professionals. He concluded that humanization means transforming rules into care and processes into relationships.
The gathering, which concludes on Monday, is held under the theme "Strategic communication, service humanization, and public trust."
