On Tuesday, 29 October the University of Liverpool is hosting a free public event entitled ‘Liverpool Health Stories’ to explore how storytelling could be used to raise awareness of key concepts in public health among members of the public and decision makers.
Researchers from the University’s Department of Public Health and Policy have organised this event to help ‘start a conversation’ about collecting and using short biographical stories to raise awareness of concepts such as health inequalities and social determinants of health.
The day will feature talks from:
• The actor Stephen McGann who has written a book, Flesh and Blood: A History of My Family in Seven Maladies, exploring his family history through illnesses shared across the generations;
• Welsh oral storyteller Daniel Morden, who is a performance storyteller and also promotes storytelling in health care settings;
• Prue Thimbleby, community storyteller and gatherer/editor of biographical stories in health and social care settings in Wales;
• “Roy”, a local storyteller who will tell stories based on his experiences of growing up in Liverpool.
Professor Sally Sheard, said: “For thousands of years stories have been used to pass on learning and knowledge. An interesting story can help engage our curiosity, emotions and imagination.
“Public health practitioners aim to improve quality of life through understanding the ways in which our social, economic and cultural worlds impact on our health in terms of disease and mental health. This event will help us to explore the use of stories and storytelling to communicate complex ideas commonly used within academic public health. And the use of stories to communicate the findings from our research.”
The event takes place between 10am and 4pm at the Foresight Centre (1 Brownlow Street, Liverpool L69 3GL).
More information and registration details for the event can be found here. As places are limited registration is essential.