Dinethra Menon

We know that people turn to user-generated content on social media to research their health concerns, but how influential is this health information?

And, more importantly, how does this type of influence impact the health content we create?

Health buzzwords like ‘protein’, ‘paleo’ and ‘organic’ are used by marketers as key selling points for many of today’s health products. Yet these words can also trick consumers into believing a product is healthier than it really is.

As health writers, we need to recognise and understand the social factors that limit health literacy so we can help our readers understand our health information. We can do this by looking at the key outcomes from a range of health literacy research into both local and global communities.

As health writers, we need to identify the ideal medium to share our key messages to our target audience to ensure our writing influences health outcomes.

While quality medical evidence underlies accurate health writing, clear writing helps the information translate easily – enter the concept of ‘processing fluency’.

New research provides insight into how we can help high-school students understand health information and make better-informed health decisions.

Digital educational interventions play a huge role in helping to educate community members outside the boundaries of traditional clinical care.