Laurie Myers is the Global Health Literacy Director for Merck & Co, Inc. In this role, Myers leads the company’s health literacy efforts globally. Her leadership has helped to improve patient communications in medication labeling, packaging, clinical trial materials, lay summaries, patient education, and more. Myers presents this work at conferences around the world and has authored numerous papers about these accomplishments.
In this podcast, Laurie Myers talks with Helen Osborne about:
- A commitment to health literacy that originated with professional training, personal experience, and opportunity. And why a passion for this topic continues years later.
- Advocacy from leaders, lawyers, and colleagues to initiate and implement health literacy programs.
- Building on success within a large organization to making a difference worldwide.
More Ways to Learn:
- “Communication is Part of the Cure: Improving Health Literacy.” J Health Communications, 2016 April 4. At https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4867849/
- MSD Corporate Responsibility Report, health literacy section. At https://www.msdresponsibility.com/access-to-health/health-literacy/
- “How Merck evolved marketing research processes to help patients better manage their health.” At https://www.quirks.com/articles/how-merck-evolved-marketing-research-processes-to-help-patients-better-manage-their-health
- European Guideline: Summaries of Clinical Trial Results for Laypersons. At https://ec.europa.eu/health/sites/health/files/files/eudralex/vol-10/2017_01_26_summaries_of_ct_results_for_laypersons.pdf
- “Strategies to Enhance Numeracy Skills” (National Academy of Medicine Discussion Paper). At https://nam.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Strategies-to-Enhance-Numeracy-Skills.pdf
- “Considerations for a New Definition of Health Literacy” (National Academy of Medicine Discussion Paper). At https://nam.edu/considerations-for-a-new-definition-of-health-literacy/
Health Literacy from A to Z: Practical Ways to Communicate Your Health Message, Second Edition (Updated 2018), by Helen Osborne. Relevant chapters include: 1, 4, 8, 27
Read the transcript of this podcast.
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