Wilma Alvarado-Little MA, MSW focuses on health equity from a linguistic and cultural perspective. She serves as the Associate Commissioner for New York State’s Department of Health and Director of its Office of Minority Health & Health Disparities. Her experience includes work in public policy, research, health literacy, and health disparities prevention. Alvarado-Little also is a healthcare interpreter and has helped develop numerous hospital and clinic-based programs. She is an invited participant on many national and statewide boards that address issues of culture and language in healthcare.
In this podcast, Wilma Alvarado-Little talks with Helen Osborne about:
- Culture in health communication has many dimensions. Beyond issues of race and ethnicity, includes factors such as socioeconomic status, communication preferences, and even work schedules.
- Language includes written words, spoken words, and numbers along with body language, context, and potential distractions.
- Ways to consider culture and language in all forms of health communication.
More ways to learn:
- Roundtable on Health Literacy, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine. http://nationalacademies.org/HMD/Activities/PublicHealth/HealthLiteracy.aspx
- National Center for Cultural Competence, Georgetown University. https://nccc.georgetown.edu
- Think Cultural Health, US Department of Health & Human Services. https://www.thinkculturalhealth.hhs.gov
- National CLAS Standards, https://www.thinkculturalhealth.hhs.gov/clas
- “Research About Using the Milliliter as a Standard Unit for Liquid Medication,” Health Literacy Out podcast #126. /2014/12/09/research-about-using-the-milliliter-as-a-standard-unit-for-liquid-medication-hlol-126/
- Health Literacy Consulting, healthliteracy.com
Health Literacy from A to Z: Practical Ways to Communicate Your Health Message, Second Edition (Updated 2018), by Helen Osborne. Relevant chapters include: 7, 15, 18, 27
Read the transcript of this podcast.
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