health literacy

Dr. Lisa Fitzpatrick believes offering medical explanations in clear, everyday language from trusted messengers can help shrink health disparities. Her video company, Grapevine Health, is built on that idea — and some health insurers are buying in.

'Dr. Lisa on the Street' busts health myths and empowers patients

5:22pm February 13, 2023

She's seen what happens when people don't trust or understand their doctor. Dr. Lisa Fitzpatrick founded 'Grapevine Health' to get solid information out, especially to Black and Latinx patients.

Bithaniya Fieseha, a high school senior, graduates from the Youth Public Health Ambassador program run by the Fairfax County Health Department at West Springfield High School in Fairfax County, Va.

Health & Safety

Short on community health workers, a county trains teens as youth ambassadors

9:50am January 01, 2023

by Pien Huang

In Fairfax County, Va., the health department is training high school students to become health ambassadors in underserved communities and get a leg up on future careers in public health.

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Last year, in her first year of medical school at Harvard, Pooja Chandrashekar recruited 175 multilingual health profession students from around the U.S. to create simple and accurate fact sheets about COVID-19 in 40 languages.

How Medical Jargon Can Make COVID Health Disparities Even Worse

1:43pm May 24, 2021

by Fran Kritz

There's a lot of room for dangerous misunderstanding when doctors and public health officials talk to diverse groups about COVID-19. Health literacy projects aim to dispel confusion in all languages.

Hey docs, be sure to ask the patient how it went.

Want Help Explaining A Medical Procedure? Ask A 9-Year-Old

7:18am December 15, 2017

by April Fulton

Much of the information doctors hand patients before surgery is too complex and hard to understand. So British researchers asked 9-year-olds to rewrite a brochure about a hip replacement.

About 50 percent of patients don't take their medicine as prescribed, research shows. And those mistakes are thought to result in at least 100,000 preventable deaths each year.

'Smart' Pill Bottles Aren't Enough To Help The Medicine Go Down

6:08pm August 22, 2017

by Lauren Silverman

Lots of people forget to take their medicine on time. Now firms are selling "smart" pill bottles that send patients reminders through the Internet. But maybe the real problem isn't forgetfulness.

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Traditional warning labels on medicine boxes tend to be long on confusing language, critics say, but short on helpful numbers.

Health & Safety

How Well Does A Drug Work? Look Beyond The Fine Print

12:31pm August 01, 2014

by NPR staff

A husband and wife who are doctors have been working on fact boxes for drugs that, like nutrition labels for foods, would more concisely convey a medicine's benefits and risks.

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