Health literacy is about mutual understanding. It happens when patients (or caregivers, the public, or anyone on the receiving end of health communication) and providers (clinicians, public health specialists, organizations, and others on the giving end of this communication) truly understand each other.
Helen’s services and resources include:
Books
Helen is author of the award-winning book, Health Literacy from A to Z. This practical how-to guide is for everyone who wants to learn ways to more clearly communicate about health.
Podcasts
In her podcast series Health Literacy Out Loud, Helen Osborne interviews those “in the know” about many aspects of health communication, patient education, and health literacy.
Presentations
Helen speaks about health literacy across the U.S. and around the world. She does so in keynote presentations, workshops, and panel conversations. These can be in-person, virtual, or a combination of formats.
Plain Language Editing
Plain language is about writing in ways that readers can read, understand, and use. Helen can help by editing materials using plain language principles and suggesting ways to make plain language a part of everyday practice
Helen Osborne can help you communicate clearly!
Helen Osborne, M.Ed, OTR helps professionals communicate health information in ways that patients and the public can understand. Helen brings to this work her experience as an occupational therapist, training as an educator, and perspective as a patient and caregiver.
Clients
About the Book
Health Literacy from A to Z: Practical Ways to Communicate Your Health Message, Third Edition (2022) is written for everyone who cares about clearly communicating health messages. Whether you are a clinician, public health specialist, community worker, patient, caregiver, health care instructor, or student, this book is for you.
Health Literacy Out Loud Podcast
Listen in as Helen Osborne interviews those in-the-know about many aspects of health communication, patient education, and health literacy. You will hear real-world experiences about why health literacy matters and learn practical ways to help.
Here are links to the newest Health Literacy Out Loud episodes:
What Can I Do?
Contact Helen to discuss ways she can help you.
Stay up-to-date with health literacy news. Subscribe to Helen’s monthly newsletter.
“Thank you for your excellent work on this script as well as all the others! You make the scripts and projects even better. We greatly appreciate your expertise and collaborating with us to improve medical care for those who most need it.”
Aretha Delight Davis MD, JD & Angelo Volandes MD, MPH
Co-founders and chief executives of ACP Decisions
Harvard Medical School
Helen’s monthly How-To Tips
The Caring Part of Healthcare
Many of us chose the work we do because of a desire to help others. But this intent can sometimes get overlooked midst an overwhelming amount of workplace demands. Here are some tips to help you focus again on the caring part of healthcare. Caring for...
How Adults Learn
All provider-patient encounters are opportunities for learning and teaching, even when not labeled as such. “Teachers” can be clinicians or anyone else responsible for health instruction. “Students” may be patients, caregivers, or others receiving this information....
Ethics of Simplicity
In many ways, we as plain language writers serve as translators of scientific and medical information. We must communicate complicated, often-ambiguous, ever-changing health information in a manner that is sufficiently clear and understandable even to those with...