As a confirmed health literacy fan, I’m glad for health professionals’ high level of awareness around health literacy. I am often asked some version of the question: what can we do better as a field to support patients in growing their health literacy? My goal in this short essay is to challenge the way you […]
LGBTQ health disparities and microaggressions
June is Pride month, and a perfect time to think about the power of our everyday language. If you’ve read around this site or heard my podcast series, you know I’m one of the people interested in how health disparities are related to words, phrases and terms used around issues of health. So this is […]
Webinar follow-up: Building BRIDGES in multi-sector communication Part 1
Earlier this week, I gave a a free live webinar on communication in multi-sector collaborations, in conjunction with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, and the Region 2 Public Health Training Center. It was called “Building BRIDGES: Understanding our Position in Multi-Sector Communication.” What do I mean by Building BRIDGES? BRIDGES is a working metaphor, and much more. BRIDGES is […]
Introducing: the Building BRIDGES approach
About two weeks ago, I was talking to a former colleague of mine in higher ed about my podcast series, 10 Minutes to Better Patient Communication. Knowing my background is not in healthcare, he asked, with some surprise, “You have 45 episodes? On different topics?” “Yes,” I said proudly. “New one every 2 weeks.” The […]
How common terminology may perpetuate mental health stigma
A few weeks ago, I read a tweet from Dr. Javeed Sukhera about terminology and mental health. The tweet had ‘gone viral,’ and it’s stayed in my mind since then. Next time someone says "mental health" what if we took out "mental" and just said "health?" "I need time off for my health." "I need […]
4 ways to help resist a deficit perspective
Deficit perspectives are sneaky. Maybe the better word is ‘insidious.’ They can worm their way quietly into our work. And when there, they do real damage. Maybe you’ve heard the term. If not, it’s a tendency to maintain a focus on negative instances, examples, or qualities. Like seeing patients as passive recipients. Or centering on what […]
