{"id":6238,"date":"2026-08-28T08:03:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T08:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp2027.world.physio\/?page_id=6238"},"modified":"2026-08-28T08:03:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T08:03:15","slug":"fs-02","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wp2027.world.physio\/pt_pt\/fs-02\/","title":{"rendered":"FS-session-02"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Focused symposium: Humanizing physiotherapy education and practice: integrating medical humanities, graphic medicine and social determinants of health (FS-02)<\/div>\n

Moderator: <\/strong>Maria Jesus Mena-Iturriaga (Chile)<\/p>\n

Speakers:<\/strong> Mattia Bisconti (Italy),\u00a0Almudena Buesa (Spain), Catherine Sanhueza (Chile)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n

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\n Learning objectives <\/div>\n\n
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  1. \n

    To explain how narrative approaches within the medical humanities can support the development of professionalism, empathy, and awareness of patients\u2019 caring needs in physiotherapy education, considering intersectional approach and social determinants of health.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    To experience a graphic medicine exercise and discuss its potential as a clinical tool to support people living with chronic pain, fibromyalgia, neurological conditions and other long-term illnesses in understanding and coping with their process.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    To recognize how these humanities initiatives of physiotherapy education and clinical approaches have been aligned with the integration of biopsychosocial model and development of professionalism, empathy, and awareness of patients center care.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol> <\/div>\n\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n\n

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    Abstract<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n
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    This focused symposia explores how medical humanities can humanise physiotherapy education and clinical practice, with a focus on narrative approaches and graphic medicine. As physiotherapy adopts biopsychosocial and intersectional person-centred models of care, there is a growing need for educational and clinical strategies that support clinicians and students in understanding patients\u2019 lived experiences, social context and the social determinants shaping health (e.g social capital, gender, education, etc.) (Karran 2025, O\u2019Neill 2014). This is particularly important to develop reflective and empathetic practice where inequities, stigma and context strongly influence both outcome and care experience as in chronic pain and long-term conditions.<\/p>\n

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    Emerging evidence from health professions education suggests that narrative medicine and humanities-based approaches can enhance empathy, reflection, and professional identity (Milota, 2019), In this context, approaches based on art, illustration, and comics\u2014collectively known as graphic medicine\u2014enable the exploration and communication of lived experiences of illness, facilitating the construction and dissemination of complex narratives about suffering, care, and the therapeutic relationship (Leavy, 2015). These strategies offer particularly relevant potential in the training of physical therapy students and professionals, as they foster a deeper understanding of the experiences of people with chronic illnesses and promote more reflective, empathetic, and person-centered clinical practices. Together, these approaches offer innovative, evidence-informed ways to strengthen both education and clinical care (Duong, 2024; Lin, 2022).<\/p>\n

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    Patients benefit from an intersectional approach because health and pain are not simply individual experiences, but are shaped by a range of interacting social determinants\u2014such as gender, socioeconomic conditions, education, and work\u2014that influence how people access care, experience illness, and respond to rehabilitation (Karran 2025). These factors do not act in isolation; they combine in ways that can either compound disadvantage or create opportunities, calling for a shift away from purely reductionist interpretations towards a more contextual understanding of health, as increasingly recognised in pain research (Kapos 2024). For physiotherapists, being attentive to these dimensions helps avoid overlooking important aspects of patients\u2019 lives and supports more equitable, person-centred care. From this perspective, graphic medicine can be a valuable tool for bringing these often-invisible social and structural influences into view, creating space for dialogue, reflection, and shared understanding between patients and clinicians.<\/p>\n

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    The session will begin with a brief introduction to the conceptual background and current evidence. Three international speakers will then present complementary perspectives: a) the use of narrative to support professional identity formation and awareness of care needs; b) the application of graphic medicine to represent patients\u2019 lived experiences; and c) make visible the social and structural dimensions of illness.<\/p>\n

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    Participants will then engage in an interactive workshop, working in small groups to create visual representations applying the graphic medicine approach to the experience of living with chronic pain and its social and contextual dimensions; followed by a facilitated discussion exploring the value of graphic medicine as a strategy and its translation into practice, and reflecting on how these approaches can be applied.<\/p>\n

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    A panel discussion will integrate key insights from the presentations and workshop.<\/p><\/div>\n

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    References<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n
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    1. \n

      Brown, S., McRae, D., Sheils, E., McDonnell, B., Khan, I., & James, D. (2021). The effect of visual interventions on illness beliefs and medication adherence for chronic conditions: A scoping review of the literature and mapping to behaviour change techniques (BCTs). Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.sapharm.2021.11.006<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    2. \n

      Duong, V., Bunzli, S., Callahan, L., De Jong, B., Hunter, D., Kim, J., & Mobasheri, A. (2024). Visual narratives in medicine: Bridging the gap in graphic medicine with an illustrated narrative of osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage Open, 6. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.ocarto.2024.100471<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    3. \n

      Kapos, F. P., Craig, K. D., Anderson, S. R., Bernardes, S. F., Hirsh, A. T., Karos, K., Keogh, E., Reynolds Losin, E. A., McParland, J. L., Moore, D. J., & Ashton-James, C. E. (2024). Social determinants and consequences of pain: Toward multilevel, intersectional, and life course perspectives. The Journal of Pain, 25(10), 104608. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.jpain.2024.104608<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    4. \n

      Karran, E. L., Cashin, A. G., Chiarotto, A., et al. (2025). Identifying social factors that stratify health opportunities and outcomes (ISSHOOs) in pain research: Consensus recommendations for the collection and reporting of equity-relevant data. EClinicalMedicine, 90, 103586. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.eclinm.2025.103586<\/a><\/p>\n

      Leavy, P. (2015). Method meets art: Arts-based research practice (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    5. \n

      Lin, I., Wang, C., Lin, Y., Chen, H., & Lin, L. (2022). Simulation-based holistic education in physiotherapy interns to increase empathy toward older adults and individuals with disabilities. BMC Geriatrics, 22. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s12877-022-03500-x<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    6. \n

      Milota, M., van Thiel, G., & van Delden, J. (2019). Narrative medicine as a medical education tool: A systematic review. Medical Teacher, 41(7), 802\u2013810. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/0142159x.2019.1584274<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    7. \n

      Moretti, V. (2023). Understanding comics-based research: A practical guide for social scientists. Emerald Publishing.<\/p>\n

      Remein, C., Childs, E., Pasco, J., Trinquart, L., Flynn, D., Wingerter, S., Bhasin, R., Demers, L., & Benjamin, E. (2020). Content and outcomes of narrative medicine programmes: A systematic review of the literature through 2019. BMJ Open, 10. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/bmjopen-2019-031568<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    8. \n

      Williams, R. M. C. (2012). Can you picture this? Activism, art, and public scholarship. Visual Arts Research, 28(2), 87\u201398.<\/p>\n

      Xue, M., Sun, H., Xue, J., Zhou, J., Qu, J., Ji, S., Bu, Y., & Liu, Y. (2023). Narrative medicine as a teaching strategy for nursing students to develop professionalism, empathy, and humanistic caring ability: A randomized controlled trial. BMC Medical Education, 23. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s12909-023-04026-5<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol><\/div>\n

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