Investigating the use of dialogue in communicating health messages: using the QMLinkers project as a case study.

Abstract

Introduction: This dissertation looks into the theory of dialogue and the current literature surrounding it. It will look into how dialogue can be seen as three different concepts: an event; a philosophy; or a process (Pieczka et al. 2010). After discussing the main aspects surrounding the literature of dialogue it will then focus on dialogue and its uses for communicating health messages drawing on the work of multiple scholars (Pieczka. 2011; Pieczka and Wood. 2013; Walseth and Schei. 2011). Dialogue has also been used to gain the opinions of students (Cook-Sather, 2002) and also had student led dialogue sessions (Keefer et al, 2000) which will be important in reference to this dissertation as QMLinks project is student to student dialogue. From the literature a model for dialogue was created to define the process of dialogue and the main stages it goes through. This research was prompted by the new approaches being taken by the AlcoLOLs project in using dialogue to combat underage drinking compared to the typical safe drinking campaigns. The research will take use a qualitative methodology and use a case study approach to focus on the experiences of the facilitators of dialogue within the QMLinks project to fully investigate the role of the facilitator and their opinions and experiences of dialogue in the project. Qualitative research allows for greater analysis of what is meant by the responses given by the participants and can explore any emerging themes more thoroughly than compared to quantitative methods (Daymon and Holloway, 2011; Corbin and Strauss, 2008). From the research it will aim to define the factors affecting the success of dialogue, how to define when dialogue has been achieved in the context of the QMLinks project, if dialogue is an effective tool for communicating health messages surrounding alcohol to students and also to discover any unanticipated criteria in the dialogic process. This dissertation will allow for a greater understanding on the practical uses of dialogue and the future possibilities of its application in communicating health messages. It will then make suggestions needed on how further to investigate the uses of dialogue and any themes which emerge in this research