Led by Director Kerri Cavanaugh, MD, MHS, the Effective Health Communication (EHC) Core provides consultation on multiple aspects of research related to health literacy, numeracy, cross-cultural communication, and mobile device or Internet-based communication.
Consultation can be arranged at any stage in the research process, including identification of appropriate measures and resources, feedback on study-related materials, recruitment of diverse patients, informed consent, accurate data collection, data analysis and interpretation, and dissemination of findings, all with an eye toward making the research accessible to patients across a range of health literacy skills and cultures.
EHC Core services include:
- Consultation regarding the development of consent and e-consent sensitive to patient literacy/numeracy, cultural, and other psychosocial factors.
- Consultation regarding accurate collection of data from patients with low literacy skills.
- Identification of existing scales and resources related to the assessment of health literacy, numeracy, patient education, and other communication domains.
- Assist with content development, and evaluation of literacy, numeracy, and health communication related measures.
- Consultation on efficacious and sustainable communication modalities (e.g., phone, text, web, in-person) based on population(s), goals, and resources.
- Strategies for recruitment of diverse patients including those with lower literacy skills or limited English proficiency.
- Consultation on content development, design, and evaluation of health communication interventions for patients or providers, including print, audiovisual, web-based, or mobile phone-based tools.
For questions regarding the Core, please email: Erin Bergner (erin.m.bergner@vumc.org)