Partnering with patient associations: Engaging medical writers to support health literacy for patients - Volume 29, Issue

As patients are increasingly involved in healthcare decisions, there is a growing need for them to have access to appropriate health information. Medical writers, being a link between medical research and published data, are well placed to make…

Crowdpower in the era of ‘health 2.0’ - Volume 21, Issue

Members of the social web are increasingly banding together and using web 2.0 technologies to actively participate in their own healthcare (‘health 2.0’). This article gives an overview of how ‘crowdpower’ is impacting the field of healthcare, above…

Patient education accessibility - Volume 24, Issue

Patient education that overcomes literacy barriers supports quality care. This article provides an overview of health literacy, describes the concepts of readability and accessibility, and discusses how to empathise with the patient's experience and…

Profile: An interview with Blanca Mayor Serrano on the state-of-the-art of health literacy in Spain - Volume 22, Issue

There seems to be a move towards ‘patient-centred’ health care as part of an overall effort to improve the quality of health care and to reduce costs. Individual patients and providers have to work together to ensure effective communication.…

How CDC is promoting a clear communication culture - Volume 24, Issue

Both the federal Plain Writing Act and the mission of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to protect and promote people's health require CDC to communicate clearly so that people can understand and act on the important health…

Writing for lay audiences: A challenge for scientists - Volume 24, Issue

Writing for lay audiences, especially lay summaries, is needed to increase health and science literacy, but this kind of writing can be difficult for scientists. The article describes why it can be so difficult and gives some advice on how…

In the Bookstores - Volume 27, Issue

Health Literacy FromA to Z: Practical ways to communicate your health message (Second Edition) By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L

Promoting equity in understanding: A cross-organisational plain language glossary for clinical research - Volume 29, Issue

Clear communication with the public and with potential clinical trial participants and their caregivers is foundational to the ethical tenets of respect, justice, and beneficence. However, health literacy, even of highly educated individuals, often…

Writing for patients: When and how? - Volume 29, Issue

The move towards patient engagement and patient involvement in healthcare decisions (“shared care”) has triggered a raft of new guidances from regulatory authorities, accompanied by new regulations mandating that pharmaceutical companies engage with…

In the Bookstores - Volume 22, Issue

The Spirit Level

Ever had a ‘ping’ moment? This book might have been mine. I'm not a natural pessimist, but Western society today seems less cohesive and people more materialistic, stressed, unhealthy, and unhappy than in times gone by. Wealth and s…