We just published one in a series of articles derived from our NIH funded study of consumers’ use of patient electronic medical records. In this article we report on how enthusiastic underserved consumers were to hear that EMRs are coming. “Consumers’ Perceptions of Patient-Accessible Electronic Medical Records”Journal of Medical Internet Research Our next article will report on […]
Youtoons Get Ready for Obamacare In preparation for October’s open enrollment a number of states are turning to Youtube, and social media to get out the word. Most that I’ve seen are simply promos. Example, Vermont Health. Gentle, commonsense talking folks delivering general information about the coming changes. http://www.youtube.com/vthealthconnect Kaiser Family Foundation’s video is one […]
I’m not quite Polly Anna-ish, and sometimes can find myself teetering on the edge of situational pessimism, but I do believe good things come from bad. This can be said of super-storm Sandy. We were struck dumb, frightened and lost. Many, many suffered greatly. Then and now, we’re recovering. All nature of good and great things […]
Simplifying! Last week I read the always informative NYT article on antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” through the lens of – how does a low health literate person make meaning from this. I call this doing a Health Literacy Load Analysis – Identify the underlying concepts that the text/message assumes the reader has some working […]
I am still conflicted about the new NYCDOH pregnancy prevention poster campaign . The ones that depict babies speaking messages to their supposed pregnant teen moms. I’ve been thinking about it for over a week now. Bus stops, on the subway…those babies’s faces – inconsolable, accusing. When I first saw the ads I said –“Brilliant. Blunt, […]
As I mentioned in my last post, the National Weather Service is asking for public comments as it tries to simplify its weather alerts so more people can understand them. Here is one that is posted on their test page today: ———————————————————————————————————(Original Message) THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BLACKSBURG HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR […]
Watch, Warning, Advisory – the National Weather Service is beginning to think that these words, along with their weather broadcasts more generally, may not be understood very well by the public. So, they are asking for input as they trip down the linguistic cobblestones of simplification lane. ( This came to me via a contact […]
Before and after Hurricane Sandy hit officials at every level (Governors, Mayors, emergency management) urged residents to evacuate…and bemoaned that less than 50% headed their warnings. Historically residents have been reluctant to leave their homes for any number of reasons: nowhere to go, no money to get there, not being physically well enough, not […]
Now that Pres. Obama has been re-elected (a positive call to action for those of us in public health!), states are going to be in a rush to get their health exchanges up and running (NYT 11/10/12). Many states were playing a wait-and-see game, doing little to plan for their exchange. By Jan. 1, 2014 the […]
Trust. If you’re not going to have a police state – where people are carted off the beaches and boardwalks, or forced out of their apartments in Zone A – you need to rely on a public that understands and trusts the directions they are getting in an emergency. I’m sure we could put together […]
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