For the past 5 years, we’ve been working with the CDC to create lead poisoning prevention information that’s easy for parents to understand and act on. |
Result: CommunicateHealth developed a series of fact sheets and a plain language glossary written for parents with limited literacy skills and limited understanding of environmental health hazards like lead poisoning. Each fact sheet focuses on concrete action steps parents can take right away to protect their children (prevention) or reduce the harmful effects of lead exposure (mitigation). The glossary, Lead Poisoning: Words to Know from A to Z, includes pronunciation and examples of commonly used terms related to childhood lead poisoning. The content was tested and revised based on user feedback.
Explore More: Lead Poisoning: Words to Know from A to Z [PDF]
Kudos: In 2011, Lead Poisoning: Words to Know from A to Z won the ClearMark award for best plain language public sector original document. We took pride in the award winning product and in being part of CDC’s efforts to improve health literacy:
Client: Center for Environmental Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Role: Plain language writing, user research
How do you communicate information about lead poisoning to recent immigrants and refugees… without using words?
In the United States, refugee children are twice as likely as non-refugee children to have high blood lead levels. Anemia, malnourishment, non lead-safe housing, and some cultural practices (such as eating on the floor and using traditional medicines) increase the risk of lead poisoning.
Result: The CommunicateHealth team used an iterative design process to create picture-based factsheets that can be used during home-visits with refugee families. We:
- Conducted in-depth interviews with local refugee service providers, environmental health educators, and refugee and adult educators.
- Incorporated international symbols commonly used in refugee camps (like thumbs-up and thumbs-down).
- Created early prototypes and tested them with refugees from Burma, Somalia, the former Soviet Union, Mongolia, Iraq, and Bhutan.
Client: Center for Environmental Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Role: Plain language writing, user research, graphic design
How do you transform an organizational policy into a hands-on tool to help social service providers engage consumers in their day-to-day operations?
Result: CommunicateHealth created the Consumer Involvement Toolkit for state agencies. We developed a series of icons and templates to organize the content and invited user interaction with checklists and self-assessments.
Client: University of Massachusetts Medical Center
Role: Plain language writing, user research, graphic design
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