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Proposal

forMoving Genre Theory Online: The Emergence of Online Health Communication

Tracing H1N1: Twitter as an emergent knowledge translation genre

Philip Girvan, MA

National Collaborating Centres for Public Health

C/o St. Francis Xavier UniversityAntigonish, NS Canada B2G 1T9

pgirvan@stfx.ca

1-902-867-6131

Introduction

Knowledge translation (KT) is defined by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research

(CIHR) as a dynamic and iterative process that includes synthesis, dissemination,

exchange and ethically-sound application of knowledge to improve the health of

Canadians, provide more effective health services and products and strengthen the health

care systemi.

Traditional vehicles for KT in health-related disciplines include the systematic review of

literature and learning symposiums intended for audiences composed of practitioners,

educators, researchers, and policymakers. Online technologies and their emergent

genres have expanded and diversified KTs scope and the breadth of the audience.

Whether or not the CIHRs definition of KT can be reconciled with these changes is the

focus of this chapter.

mailto:pgirvan@stfx.camailto:pgirvan@stfx.ca

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Content

The chapter develops an Actor-Network-Theory (ANT) critique of the CIHRs definition

of KT to trace individual, cultural, institutional and systemic barriers that influenced the

translation of knowledge during theH1N1 pandemic and to what degree Twitter removed

or reinforced these barriers.

Callonii (1986) describes five distinct moments of translation (which may overlap in

practice):

1. Problematization

2. Interessement

3. Enrollment

4. Mobilization

5. Dissidence

Conducting a retrospective examination of online KT tweets containing the hashtag

#h1n1 appearing from June 11, 2009, the day the World Health Organization (WHO)

declared the H1N1 influenza virus a pandemic, to August 10, 2010, the day the WHO

declared the H1N1 influenza pandemic over, this chapter presents a discourse analysis of

hashtagged tweets to locate them within the moments of translation listed above.

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Audience

The audience for this chapter includes physicians, other medical care providers, or

pharmaceutical companies. This chapter will also be of interest to researchers within the

fields of medical rhetoric, social media, discourse analysis, genre analysis, health

communication, health education, and knowledge translation.

About the Author

Philip Girvan is an educator and researcher. Principal areas of research include healthliteracy, communities of practice, sociolinguistics, and second language acquisition.

His current research investigates rhetorical strategies used by health actors during the

planning, implementation, execution, and uptake of health literacy interventions and the

genres emerging from these strategies.

He works for the National Collaborating Centres for Public Health (NCCPH) Leads

Secretariat to provide guidance, support and oversight for the implementation of

collaborative projects and activities. This includes project and information management

of activities which support the six National Collaborating Centres (NCCs); and promotes

and improves the use of scientific and experiential knowledge to enhance the

effectiveness and efficiency of Canadas public health system.

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i Canadian Institutes for Heath Research. More About Knowledge Translation at CIHR. http://www.cihr-

irsc.gc.ca/e/39033.htmlaccessed August 29, 2010.ii Callon, M. (1986). Some elements of a sociology of translation: domestication of the scallops and the fishermen of St.Brieuc Bay. Power, action and belief: a new sociology of knowledge? J. Law (ed.). London. Routedge. 196-223.

http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/39033.htmlhttp://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/39033.htmlhttp://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/39033.htmlhttp://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/39033.htmlhttp://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/39033.html