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03/07/2024 - General information

L'AQUAS and nine research institutes publish a guide for inclusive communication in health research.

• The guide promotes the adoption and acceptance of language that fosters visibility, equality, and representation of all people in the field of health research and aims to avoid situations where language may contain lexicon or forms that invisibilize or discriminate against people, or that reproduce traditional stereotypes.
• It offers practical recommendations for inclusive language with a gender perspective for its oral, written, and visual forms.

The Agency for Health Quality and Assessment of Catalonia (AQUAS) of the Department of Health and nine research institutions in Catalonia have developed the guide "Recommendations for Inclusive Communication in Health Research" to promote the inclusion of language that fosters visibility, equality, and representation of all people and to avoid situations where language may contain lexicon or forms that invisibilize or discriminate against people.

This instrument, developed in both Catalan and English, contains recommendations applicable to written, oral, and visual communication to serve as a support tool for inclusive communication in health research institutions, complementary to official linguistic guides and the style manuals of institutions.

Inclusive communication is essential to ensure that all people feel represented and valued. Recognizing this need, the guide contains examples and strategies of preferred uses and non-recommended uses to demonstrate its practical application and with the aim of providing resources and raising awareness to contribute to the full, respectful, and non-discriminatory inclusion of any group and diversity. For this reason, as explained by its authors, the document not only includes examples on gender treatment but also other diversities, such as communicative treatment of disabilities, illnesses, and cultural groups.

Additionally, an infographic with key messages has been presented to offer a more accessible resource. Both documents are addressed to both scientific and administrative staff of these institutions, as well as their management, research system personnel, journalists, and other interested parties, to provide simple and direct recommendations visually to explain and disseminate research inclusively, as well as specific advice in different formats and in two languages.

These publications have been developed within the framework of the Hipàtia Community, which works on updating management policies and practices, eliminating unconscious bias, promoting cultural change, and incorporating sex and gender perspectives in research. Specifically, for this initiative, a working group coordinated by AQUAS and composed of professionals from the Biomedical Research Institute of Girona (IDIBGI), the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), the Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute (IJC), the Hospital del Mar Research Institute (IMIM), the Biomedical Research Institute of Barcelona (IRB Barcelona), the Biomedical Research Institute of Lleida (IRB Lleida), the Sant Pau Research Institute (IIB-Sant Pau), the Parc Taulí Research and Innovation Institute (I3PT), and the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) has been created. The guide also received linguistic advice from the Linguistic Planning Service of the Department of Health. The graphic design of these materials was carried out by the social communication agency La Sembra.

Guia en catalán

Resumen de guia en catalán

Guide in english 

Guide summary in english

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