Health literacy: How language, context affects disparities

May 11, 3 p.m. ET

Social media, video and a host of other technological changes have a daily impact on health journalism coverage – but what about their messaging to patients, caregivers and others?

We will take a look at how the language and information facing today’s population is impacting people’s health across the country with Rima Rudd, a founder in the field of health literacy studies and a leading researcher exploring this aspect of health communication. A senior lecturer on health literacy, education, and policy at Harvard University’s School of Public Health, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Rudd also serves on the Institute of Medicine’s Roundtable on Health Literacy, which is examining the impact of literacy on health and wellbeing.

During the webcast, we will explore how health literacy impacts people’s ability to make health care decisions, the impact of technology, and the role of culture in assessing how people view health and treatments. We’ll also examine specific language and context, and we’ll discuss how journalists covering health can play a role. 

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How to participate

A link to the webcast will appear on this page about 15 minutes before it begins. This event is exclusively for AHCJ members so you will need your website login and password. If you don’t have that, please visit this page and enter your email address to have an access key sent to you.

Click on this link, type your name in the designated box and click on the “Enter Room” button. Our webcast will get started shortly, with a period at the end for you to ask questions. Note that this event is exclusively for AHCJ members

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About the speaker

Rima E. Rudd, M.S.P.H., Sc.D., has been a member of the faculty in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences (with its various name changes) for more than 25 years. Her research and teaching initially focused on the design and evaluation of community based public health programs. In the mid-1990s she began to focus her teaching as well as her research studies on health disparities and literacy-related barriers to health information, health programs, and health care. A founder of and leader in health literacy studies, Rudd drafted the first national call to action, served on the original Institute of Medicine Health Literacy Committee, and has written and contributed to multiple health policy reports, white papers, and research studies. She serves on the Institute of Medicine Round Table on Health Literacy and is engaged in research and policy projects in the United States, Europe, New Zealand and Australia.