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.
- It’s Time to Get Involved in Health Literacy Month October 1, 2003Article from the Boston Globe’s On Call Magazine, October 2003 By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting Healthy People 2010 defines “health literacy” as “the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.” There are many reasons why people have difficulty ...read more >>
- Communicating Electronically with Patients September 1, 2003Article from the Boston Globe’s On Call Magazine, September 2003 By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting Used wisely, e-mail and the World Wide Web can benefit both patients and providers. Many people use e-mail and the Web to get the news, buy airline tickets, and make dates with business associates or friends. But despite the increasing ...read more >>
- Communicating With Clients in Person and Over the Phone (PDF file) August 1, 2003Communicating With Clients in Person and Over the Phone (PDF file)read more >>
- Adding a Dose of Humor to Your Patient Teaching July 1, 2003Article from the Boston Globe’s On Call Magazine, July/August 2003 By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting Patient education is serious business. Healthcare providers have to teach patients how to manage their symptoms and adhere to self-care instructions. And patients have to learn how to recognize serious side effects and what to do should they occur. ...read more >>
- Communicating About Health with ASL June 1, 2003Article from the Boston Globe’s On Call Magazine, June 2003 By Helen Osborne, MEd, OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting Some people identify themselves as deaf with an upper-case “D,” indicating they are part of a specific cultural and linguistic community. ASL (American Sign Language), the primary language for most people in that community, is the third most commonly used ...read more >>
- Opening the Interactive Communication Loop May 1, 2003Article from the Boston Globe’s On Call Magazine, May 2003 By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting Providers need to communicate their messages in ways patients can understand. Patients, in turn, should speak up when they don’t understand, or cannot recall and follow instructions. In reality, however, good healthcare communication doesn’t always happen. But healthcare providers can ...read more >>
- Making Sure Your Web Site Is Accessible April 1, 2003Article from the Boston Globe’s On Call Magazine, April 2003 By Helen Osborne, MEd, OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting The World Wide Web is an important resource for many people. Its use goes far beyond simply communicating with friends or being entertained. For some, it’s a source of education, a way to find work, and a portal to ...read more >>
- Make It Easy: Writing Healthcare Forms that Patients Can Understand and Complete March 1, 2003Article from the Boston Globe’s On Call Magazine, March 2003 By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting Patients are often asked to complete healthcare documents and forms. These materials may ask them to locate items on tables or graphs, look up information found in other documents, or rate satisfaction on a scale from 1–10. It takes ...read more >>
- Vital Messages: Helping Patients Take Their Medications Safely and Correctly February 1, 2003Article from the Boston Globe’s On Call Magazine, February 2003 By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting Helping patients understand their medications, whether they are prescription or over-the-counter drugs, is an integral part of healthcare. When medications work well, patients often feel better for taking them. But sometimes medications make patients feel worse. This can be a ...read more >>
- It’s Like What You Already Know: Using Analogies to Help Patients Understand January 1, 2003Article from the Boston Globe’s On Call Magazine, January 2003 By Helen Osborne, MEd, OTR/L, President of Health Literacy Consulting Sometimes for patients, making the effort to understand healthcare information can seem like putting together a jigsaw puzzle without a picture to guide you or corner pieces to start you. It’s very hard to do. Giving them a place to ...read more >>
- Making It Work: Selecting Healthcare Brochures for Older Adults November 1, 2002Article from the Boston Globe’s On Call Magazine, November/December 2002 By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting Selecting brochures that older adults can use and learn from takes more than simply verifying the content is accurate. Health professionals need to consider the diverse abilities and challenges faced by their intended readers. Carolyn Bottum, MPH, understands the difficulty of ...read more >>
- Health-Literacy Partnerships: Working Together Can Make a Difference October 1, 2002Article from the Boston Globe’s On Call Magazine, October 2002 By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting October is Health Literacy Month. It affords an excellent opportunity for healthcare professionals not only to raise awareness of both the public and professionals about issues of health literacy but also to form partnerships with other agencies to help ...read more >>
- Help Them Talk: Communicating With Patients and Families About End-of-life Decisions September 1, 2002Article from the Boston Globe’s On Call Magazine, September, 2002 By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting It is hard to talk about death. Patients and their families, understandably, don’t like to think about making sad and irrevocable decisions. Health providers, too, can feel uncomfortable when they are asked to counsel families facing very difficult choices. ...read more >>
- How the New HIPAA Regulations Affect Healthcare Communication September 1, 2002Article from the Boston Globe’s On Call Magazine, September, 2002 By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting It is the responsibility of every healthcare worker to respect patients’ rights, making sure that he or she does not violate the privacy of patient information. It is also the law. Very soon, if you aren’t already, you will ...read more >>
- Getting Formal: Finding the Teaching Tools You Need at a Price Your Organization Can Afford July 1, 2002Article from the Boston Globe’s On Call Magazine, July/August 2002 By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting Whether you work in hospitals or see patients in their homes, in today’s economy you are apt to a have limited (or even non-existent) budget for patient education materials. Clinicians are challenged to find low-cost, high-quality, print and non-print ...read more >>
- Getting Formal: Educating Patients in a Classroom Setting June 1, 2002Article from the Boston Globe’s On Call Magazine, June 2002 By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting Patient education occurs when health providers and patients talk about the patient’s discharge instructions or medication information. It also happens when health providers recommend health-related booklets, videos, or websites to their patients. But patient education also can take place in ...read more >>
- Narrative Power: Using Stories in Healthcare Communication May 1, 2002Article from the Boston Globe’s On Call Magazine, May 2002 By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting Stories are more than just a listing of random incidents and anecdotes. They have a beginning, middle, and end and they include characters who convey feelings and communicate ideas that your listener needs to hear. That makes them powerful tools ...read more >>
- Conversations That Need to Happen: Helping Adult Children Talk With Their Parents About Health and Finances April 1, 2002Article from the Boston Globe’s On Call Magazine, April 2002 By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting While adults need to be mindful of their own health and finances – eating wisely, making healthy lifestyle choices, and saving money for the future – they also may need to be attentive to the needs of their aging parents. ...read more >>
- From Another Point of View: A Patient’s Perspective about Health Communication March 1, 2002Article from the Boston Globe’s On Call Magazine, July 2005 By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting To be true partners in treatment and care, patients and providers need to communicate in ways that allow each to understand the other. Providers, for example, need to be clear when they talk with patients about treatment options and ...read more >>
- What They Need to Know: Communicating About Risk February 1, 2002Article from the Boston Globe’s On Call Magazine, February 2002 By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L President of Health Literacy Consulting You often need to tell people about risk. For instance, you may need to convince them they should change the battery in their smoke detectors or wear their seatbelts. You might have to explain side effects of medication or talk ...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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