Chances are, dear readers, you’ve seen at least a few episodes of Sesame Street over the years. Some people’s earliest lessons in literacy and numeracy come from Elmo, Big Bird, and Cookie Monster. Sesame Street is famous for finding fun ways to teach kids the ABCs and the 123s — and even lessons in empathy. […]
Today, dear readers, we want to tell you about a documentary that has some of us at We ❤︎ Health Literacy Headquarters talking. Unrest chronicles filmmaker Jennifer Brea’s experience with a complex and confusing illness: myalgic encephalomyelitis, also called chronic fatigue syndrome or ME/CFS. Through her own story and the stories of others living with ME/CFS, Brea […]
It’s summertime, dear readers, and that means it’s time to dive into your summer reading lists! In this edition of the We ❤ Health Literacy Book Club, we’re talking about one of our very favorite books about the intersection of culture and health. Written by Anne Fadiman, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down […]
Now that beach season is finally upon us, it’s time for another installment of the We ❤ Health Literacy Book Club. For this one we’re branching out a bit — the book isn’t so much about health literacy as it is about public health in general, but we ❤ it and we bet you will, […]
This post was written by CommunicateHealth intern Sam Lashof. Have you ever left your doctor’s office wishing the experience had been different? Maybe you wish the doctor had addressed your concerns more directly or sensitively — or maybe you felt like your appointment was too rushed and wish the doctor had given you some more […]
“I’m your doctor and you’re my patient — and in order to help you I need to know a great deal about your body, your health, and your life.” This is how Dr. Rita Charon, literary scholar, internist, and founder of the Narrative Medicine Master’s Program at Columbia University, starts every visit with new patients. […]
When we talk about storytelling in public health, we mean bolstering your campaign or intervention using personal stories of real people who have dealt with a health issue or condition. And there are many reasons to use storytelling to support your health messages. Research has shown that storytelling improves people’s self-efficacy to make important changes to their […]
