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News Articles: health literacy

Dr. Lisa Fitzpatrick believes offering medical explanations in clear, everyday language from trusted messengers can help shrink health disparities. Her video company, Grapevine Health, is built on that idea — and some health insurers are buying in.

'Dr. Lisa on the Street' busts health myths and empowers patients

She's seen what happens when people don't trust or understand their doctor. Dr. Lisa Fitzpatrick founded 'Grapevine Health' to get solid information out, especially to Black and Latinx patients.

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By:
  • Ryan Levi and
  • Dan Gorenstein
Bithaniya Fieseha, a high school senior, graduates from the Youth Public Health Ambassador program run by the Fairfax County Health Department at West Springfield High School in Fairfax County, Va.

Short on community health workers, a county trains teens as youth ambassadors

In Fairfax County, Va., the health department is training high school students to become health ambassadors in underserved communities and get a leg up on future careers in public health.

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By:
  • Pien Huang
Last year, in her first year of medical school at Harvard, Pooja Chandrashekar recruited 175 multilingual health profession students from around the U.S. to create simple and accurate fact sheets about COVID-19 in 40 languages.

How Medical Jargon Can Make COVID Health Disparities Even Worse

There's a lot of room for dangerous misunderstanding when doctors and public health officials talk to diverse groups about COVID-19. Health literacy projects aim to dispel confusion in all languages.

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By:
  • Fran Kritz