HLTH 5311 — Advancing Health Literacy Through Communication
4 semester hoursGraduateLecture
Focuses on the essential connection between health literacy and effective communication in healthcare settings. Explores how language, culture, neurodiversity, trauma, and personal experience shape understanding, trust, and safety in clinical interactions. Emphasizes patient-centered, trauma-informed, and accessibility-focused approaches that foster clarity, empathy, and trust across diverse populations. Identifies and addresses barriers to comprehension; adaptive communication for individuals with varied cognitive, sensory, and linguistic needs; and teamwork and patient safety through effective interprofessional communication. Examines practical skills to promote understanding, safety, and connection in conversations with patients, families, and care teams in ways that enhance health literacy and equity in healthcare environments.