Dr. Rima Rudd is Senior Lecturer on Society, Human Development, and Health at the Harvard School of Public Health. Her work centers on health communication and the design and evaluation of public health programs. She teaches courses on innovative strategies in health education, program planning and evaluation, and health literacy.
Dr. Rudd is widely recognized as a leader in health literacy – helping to shape both the research and practice agenda in the US, Canada, and Europe. Dr. Rudd works closely with the adult education, public health, oral health, and medical sectors. Her current research looks at literacy-related disparities and literacy-related barriers to health programs, services, and care. Her Harvard website on health literacy serves scholars and practitioners.
In this podcast, she talks with Helen Osborne about the health literacy burden in healthcare. Topics include:
- Literacy-related disparities and barriers as they relate to healthcare
- Deconstructing healthcare language, instructions, and activities
- Literacy demands in chronic disease management, prevention, and navigation
- Why it’s time to reconsider the definition of health literacy
More Ways to Learn:
- Harvard School of Public Health, Health Literacy Studies. www.hsph.harvard.edu/healthliteracy
- Communicating Health: Priorities and Strategies for Progress (2003), US Department of Health and Human Services & Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Dr. Rudd wrote the chapter about health literacy. Available at http://odphp.osophs.dhhs.gov/projects/healthcomm/
- Literacy and Health in America (2004), Educational Testing Services. Dr. Rudd is one of the authors. Available at http://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/PICHEATH.pdf
- National Center for the Study of Adult Literacy and Learning (NCSALL), http://www.ncsall.net
- Nielsen-Bohlman L, Panzer AM, Kindig DA, (ed), 2004. Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion. The National Academies Press: Washington DC. Dr. Rudd was a member of the Institute of Medicine committee as well as writer/contributor to the book. Available at http://books.nap.edu
Read the transcript of this podcast.
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