Comunicare la salute nelle istituzioni pubbliche: potenzialità delle strategie retoriche tra emozioni, persuasione e deontologia

Public communication is essential for enabling citizens to have a better and more effective relationship with those who provide public services. Healthcare is no exception: in fact, the relationship between healthcare institutions, healthcare professionals on one side, and patients (and their families) on the other, plays a decisive role in the positive progress of care processes. The ancient Greeks were already aware of this. For example, consider the crucial role of language as portrayed by Homer in the Iliad: Eurypylus, struck by an arrow and bleeding, asks Patroclus for help, who responds: “…I will not leave you, suffering so,” before proceeding to treat him. In this moment, Patroclus not only performs the technical act of healing, but also speaks to Eurypylus “as a human being, a person who suffers” (Merini, 1993). Patroclus engages with his patient, taking on his suffering and distress, sharing in his pain. By doing so, he alleviates the hero’s suffering, making it bearable. The medium he uses to achieve this is language. As Homer shows, the medical act is also and above all an act of communication through which this process—namely, care and reassurance—can take place. Communication is, at the same time, both Patroclus' words ("I will not leave you, suffering so") and his actions: physically supporting the wounded hero, bringing him to his tent, and caring for him. Thus, it has long been recognized that the medical act is also—if not primarily—a communicative act (Ghinelli, 2009). Emotions and trust are by no means secondary in the communication process, as they play a decisive role in language and argumentation (Ervas F., Rossi M.G., Gola E., 2015). Building on this, the research investigates how emotions are fundamental in public and health communication. To do so, it examines not only communication and argumentation theories but also delves deeper into the relationship with emotions, the role of social media, and the language to use in order to create a strong connection between healthcare professionals and citizens, one that enhances the medical act in the strictest sense and strengthens trust in healthcare facilities and the health system as a whole.