‘It’s all about connecting’: using visual methods to surface the multisensory and more-than-human dimensions of health information

Abstract

Human bodies and health states are becoming increasingly digitised and datafied through the use of digital technologies such as mobile and wearable devices, apps and software, electronic medical records and social media platforms. The ways that people learn about their bodies and health through their encounters with other people, living things and elements of the natural environment are often invisible in portrayals of digital health technologies. This article reports on a project in which we sought to surface more-than-digital, multisensory, affective and more-than-human modes of learning and knowing about health and wellbeing. This project involved a series of qualitative online workshops which incorporated two visually based activities: participants’ creation of maps of personal health information ecologies, and their responses to photographic prompts showing aspects of natural environments. These maps and images inspired participants to express and discuss their thoughts and feelings related to the ways they learn about and conceptualise their health and wellbeing from and with a diverse set of human and nonhuman agents. Taking this approach, we were able to develop an understanding of digital health technologies and health literacies within the more-than-digital contexts and complex health information ecologies of people’s everyday lives.