Articles
For 10 years Helen Osborne was a columnist for On Call magazine, published by a division of Boston Globe Media. Her monthly “In Other Words…” column focused on many aspects of health communication, patient education, and health literacy. Sadly, the magazine stopped being published in 2009. Happily, many of the articles are still timely and relevant. Below are about 100 of Helen’s columns. They are listed in chronological order. To find what you need, enter key terms in the search box on the upper right.
- Talking Health to Men March 27, 2009By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting On Call Magazine, December 31, 2008 The differences between men and women go beyond anatomy and physiology. One very important one is the way men and women take in, process, and use health information. Joe Zoske, MS, MSW, says gender is a component of health literacy and cultural ...read more >>
- Project RED: The Reengineered Hospital Discharge Program February 24, 2009By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting On Call Magazine, December 31, 2008 Brian Jack, MD, is a practicing physician and professor of family medicine at Boston University. Several years ago, a patient came to see him for a follow-up appointment after being discharged from the hospital. Jack had not treated this man before, and ...read more >>
- Working With Lawyers to Make Health Information Clear January 29, 2009By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting On Call Magazine, January 29, 2009 I often lead plain language workshops, teaching clinicians and other health communicators how to convey health messages more clearly. Plain language goes beyond simple words and short sentences. It includes organizing information from the reader’s perspective, setting a tone that invites readers to ...read more >>
- Pediatric Cough and Cold Medicine: Helping Patients Make Sense of Information from the FDA December 31, 2008By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting On Call Magazine, December 31, 2008 Your 5-year-old daughter wakes up in the middle of the night, sniffling and coughing. You want her to feel better and help everyone in the house get back to sleep. So you give her a dose of over-the-counter cough and cold medicine. ...read more >>
- Health and Health Literacy Information Resources From the NLM December 5, 2008By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting On Call Magazine, December 4, 2008 Marcia E. Zorn, MA, MLS, helps professionals and the general public find the health information they need. Answering questions is part of her job. Zorn is a reference librarian at the National Library of Medicine’s (NLM) Reference & Web Services Section. The NLM ...read more >>
- Talking With Patients About Touchy Subjects November 13, 2008By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting On Call Magazine, November 13, 2008 Sexual dysfunction, depression, and abuse are only a few of the many touchy” topics patients find hard to bring up to their healthcare providers. But these very problems could actually be at the root of what is happening to them medically. Machelle Seibel, ...read more >>
- Tools of change: Telling and listening to stories October 16, 2008By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting On Call Magazine, October 16, 2008 Molly Catron is a lifelong story listener and teller. Growing up, she learned about life from stories that her father and grandfather told. Later, as an analytic chemist, manager, and internal organizational consultant for a manufacturing company, Catron used stories to facilitate ...read more >>
- Necessary Programs October 9, 2008By Joseph Saling, On Call Magazine Editor October 9, 2008 Click here to read this month’s Letter from the Editor in On Call Magazine. It highlights 10 years of Health Literacy Month accomplishments.read more >>
- Using text messages to improve medication adherence September 18, 2008By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting On Call Magazine, September 18, 2008 The teenager’s cell phone rang telling him he was getting a text message. He opened it and read, “Hi. Remember to take your medication.” Then he closed his phone and went back to whatever it was he was doing. And oh yes, ...read more >>
- Using comics to communicate your health message August 22, 2008By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting On Call Magazine, August 21, 2008 Kapow! What a novel idea! Comics that tell health stories to get word out about important health issues! Glenn Herdling knows how effective this can be. He’s the director and editor-in-chief of Creative Resources at Medco Health Solutions in New Jersey. He’s also ...read more >>
- Bridging Literacy and Language Differences for Better Health Outcomes July 24, 2008By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting On Call Magazine, July 24, 2008 Mr. R works as a day laborer for a landscaping company. He, along with others from a small Mexican village, comes to the U.S. each year for this work. Now Mr. R is at your clinic because of a sprained ankle. You ...read more >>
- Questions Are the Answer to Helping Patients Understand Their Health June 25, 2008By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting On Call Magazine, June 25, 2008 The U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is charged with improving the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of healthcare for all Americans. So why is AHRQ producing “Questions Are the Answer” — an upbeat, musical consumer campaign that encourages patients ...read more >>
- Communicating Health Information Through Community Coalitions June 5, 2008By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting On Call Magazine, June 5, 2008 Making health information clear is not always easy. Getting this information to the people who need it can be even harder. Sometimes, the best way of doing both is to form a community coalition. Reaching a broader audience Jan Potter works as a communication ...read more >>
- Using Visuals and Other Creative Tools to Make Health Messages Clear May 8, 2008By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting On Call Magazine, May 8, 2008 When Bill Smith, EdD, was working as a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia, he and colleagues faced the challenge of educating people in a rural village about malaria. One teaching strategy they used was to project pictures of mosquitoes on a screen ...read more >>
- Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Other Healthcare Shorthand April 10, 2008By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting On Call Magazine, April 10, 2008 Imagine what it’s like to be suddenly injured or ill. You or your family member calls 911. EMTs arrive and take you to the nearest ER or ED. You or someone in your family is given a lot of paperwork, including HIPAA ...read more >>
- Using Music and Song as Tools of Health Communication March 24, 2008By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting On Call Magazine, March 24, 2008 Some days, his tools are a stethoscope and prescription pad. Other days, they include a microphone and guitar. But whichever tool he is using, Mache Seibel, MD, is actively educating people about health and wellness. Seibel, aka “Doc Rock,” is a practicing ...read more >>
- Helping Patients Separate True Health Information From False February 28, 2008By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting On Call Magazine, February 28, 2008 Your grandmother has arthritis and is desperately seeking a cure. She recalls reading that someone (she can’t remember who) in some newspaper (she can’t recall which one) said that shark cartilage is helpful. You know this is not the case and that ...read more >>
- Actively Listening for What Patients Do Not Say January 31, 2008By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting You’ve just finished teaching a patient about his new blood pressure medication. You focused on only a few key points. You clearly explained why, how, and when he should take his medication and what to do if a problem arises. Then you asked the patient to teach-back ...read more >>
- A Passion for Communication: Occupational therapist Helen Osborne advocates for health literacy January 14, 2008A Passion for Communication: Occupational therapist Helen Osborne advocates for health literacyread more >>
- How Memory Affects Health Understanding January 10, 2008By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting On Call Magazine, January 10, 2008 You just walked ten minutes each way to pick up four needed items at the grocery store. Now that you’re home, you realize you forgot one of them. This forgetfulness is likely due to limits of your working memory, which, according to ...read more >>
In the Press
- Book Marketing Mentors podcast June 15, 2018Book Marketing Mentors podcast features Helen Osborne who discusses the experience of taking a book from a traditional publisher to doing so on her own. Listen to Helen’s podcast conversation with Susan Friedmann, “How to Go from Traditional to Self-Published.” Order your copy of the book they’re discussing, Health Literacy from A to Z: Practical ...read more >>
- October is Health Literacy Month October 5, 2016In this blog about public libraries, Helen Osborne highlights ways everyone can help improve health understanding. She includes tips for those working in libraries, overseeing libraries, and visiting libraries. Article published in WebJunction: The Learning Place for Libraries.read more >>
- 8 ways to help people be better patients May 7, 2016Helen Osborne writes about ways that teachers, family members, and friends can help people be better patients. Published in the online journal EPALE, from the European Commission.read more >>
- Health Literacy Month Gets a Boost from Payers October 22, 2014HealthLeaders Media has a wonderful article about health literacy and health plans, written by Christopher Cheney. Helen Osborne is quoted throughout. The article is Health Literacy Month Gets a Boost from Payers.”read more >>
- HuffPost Healthy Living June 3, 2013Simple Tips for Creating Patient-Friendly Health Materials,” by Erin Marcus MD. Helen Osborne is cited several times along with other health literacy experts.read more >>
- Why Some Patients Aren’t Following Your Instructions May 29, 2013Why Some Patients Aren’t Following Your Instructions,” By Neil Chesanow, Medscape Today. Helen Osborne is quoted throughout this article about an epidemic of miscommunication.read more >>
- College & Undergraduate Libraries April 2, 2013Information Literacy Beyond the Library. Health Literacy: A National Responsiblity – Our Brother’s Keeper,” by Lana Jackman. Based on an extensive interview with Helen Osborne about the current state of health literacy.read more >>
- What’s Your Health IQ? April 29, 2011What’s Your Health IQ? Article by Lara Salahi for ABCNews.comread more >>
- Plain Language Matters March 12, 2010“Making Numbers Make Sense,” by Helen Osborne. A guest blog for the Center for Plain Language.read more >>
- CureToday.com December 24, 2009Layman’s Terms: How to Translate the Language of Cancer, by Charlotte Huff. Helen Osborne was quoted extensively in this article published in the Winter 2009 edition of CureToday.comread more >>
- The More You Know: How Much Is Enough When It Comes to Cancer Information? December 24, 2009The More You Know: How Much Is Enough When It Comes to Cancer Information? By Helen Osborne CureToday.com, Winter 2009read more >>
- CUREtoday.com November 3, 2009“Do You Understand Your Diagnosis? Kathy LaTour, editor-at-large for CURE Media Group blogs about Helen Osborne’s work in health literacy and how it affects people with cancer.read more >>
- Pennsylvania State Senate October 6, 2009The Pennsylvania State Senate has proclaimed October as Health Literacy Month. Thank you for being a health literacy champion, Senator Kitchen.read more >>
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