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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Speaker Biosketches." Institute of Medicine. 2013. Health Literacy: Improving Health, Health Systems, and Health Policy Around the World: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18325.
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Appendix B

Speaker Biosketches

Franklin Apfel, M.D., is the managing director and founding partner of World Health Communication Associates Ltd. His current work focuses on health literacy, mHealth, scorecard and checklist development, and building public health communication networks to counter hazard merchants, to brand health initiatives, and to make healthier choices easier. Previously, he has worked as head of communications for the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (Copenhagen), as Primary Health Care Fellow of the King’s Fund (London), as regional director for Central and Eastern Europe Project HOPE (Bratislava), and as a general practitioner and medical director/CEO of California Health Leadership Inc. (Ukiah).

Cynthia Baur, Ph.D., is the senior advisor for health literacy, Office of the Associate Director for Communication, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). She chairs the CDC Health Literacy Council and manages the CDC health literacy website and blog. Also, she was one of the developers of CDC’s online health literacy training for health professionals. From 2006 to 2010, she was the director, Division of Health Communication and Marketing, National Center for Health Marketing, CDC. She is a co-chair of the Healthy People 2020 Health Communication and Health Information Technology Workgroup and a co-chair of the HHS workgroup on health literacy. She is the lead author of the National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy. Dr. Baur holds a Ph.D. in communication from the University of California, San Diego.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Speaker Biosketches." Institute of Medicine. 2013. Health Literacy: Improving Health, Health Systems, and Health Policy Around the World: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18325.
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Jo Ivey Boufford, M.D., is president of the New York Academy of Medicine. Dr. Boufford is professor of public service, health policy and management at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, and clinical professor of pediatrics at New York University School of Medicine. She served as dean of the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University from June 1997 to November 2002. Prior to that, she served as principal deputy assistant secretary for health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from November 1993 to January 1997, and as acting assistant secretary from January 1997 to May 1997. While at HHS, she served as the U.S. representative on the Executive Board of the World Health Organization from 1994 to 1997.

From May 1991 to September 1993, Dr. Boufford served as director of the King’s Fund College, London, England. The King’s Fund is a royal charity dedicated to the support of health and social services in London and the United Kingdom. She served as president of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, the largest municipal system in the United States, from December 1985 until October 1989.

Dr. Boufford was awarded a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellowship at the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in Washington, DC, for 1979–1980. She served as a member of the National Council on Graduate Medical Education and the National Advisory Council for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality from 1997 to 2002. She currently serves on the boards of the United Hospital Fund, the Primary Care Development Corporation, and Public Health Solutions (formerly MHRA). She was president of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration in 2002–2003. She was elected to membership in the IOM in 1992 and is a member of its Executive Council, Board on Global Health, and Board on African Science Academy Development. She was elected to serve a second 4-year term as the foreign secretary of the IOM beginning July 1, 2010. She received an honorary doctorate of science degree from the State University of New York, Brooklyn, in May 1992, and the New York Medical College in May 2007. She was elected a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration in 2005. She has been a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine since 1988 and a trustee since 2004.

Dr. Boufford attended Wellesley College for 2 years and received her B.A. (psychology) magna cum laude from the University of Michigan, and her M.D., with distinction, from the University of Michigan Medical School. She is board-certified in pediatrics.

Jennifer Cabe, M.A., leads strategic and operations functions for Canyon Ranch Institute, a 501(c)3 nonprofit public charity. Canyon Ranch Institute catalyzes the possibility of optimal health for all people by translating the

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Speaker Biosketches." Institute of Medicine. 2013. Health Literacy: Improving Health, Health Systems, and Health Policy Around the World: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18325.
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best practices of Canyon Ranch and its partners to help educate, inspire, and empower every person to prevent disease and choose a life of wellness. Its partners include The Clorox Company, George Washington University, LIVESTRONG, and the University of Arizona. Ms. Cabe joined Canyon Ranch Institute in 2007, and was elected to the Board of Directors in 2011.

Ms. Cabe previously served in the Office of the Surgeon General as communications director and speechwriter for U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona. In that capacity, she developed health literacy initiatives with advocacy groups, community leaders, health professionals, policy makers, and the public. In 2005, Ms. Cabe was awarded the Surgeon General’s Medallion, which is the highest honor the U.S. Surgeon General can confer. Ms. Cabe also received the prestigious U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Honor Award for her role in developing the “U.S. Surgeon General’s Family History Initiative.” In 2006, Ms. Cabe was awarded the National Institutes of Health Team Merit Award for her work on the Cancer Genome Atlas, a collaboration of the National Cancer Institute and the National Human Genome Research Institute. Prior to joining the Office of the Surgeon General, Ms. Cabe was communications officer at the Fogarty International Center at the National Institutes of Health.

Ms. Cabe is currently a member of the faculty of the Ohio State University College of Nursing. She is also chair of the National Call to Action on Cancer Prevention and Survivorship Council of Experts and serves on the advisory board of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease. Ms. Cabe also serves on the advisory board for Time to Talk CARDIO, an online health literacy program that received the Institute for Healthcare Advancement’s Health Literacy Innovation Award in 2010.

Ms. Cabe earned a B.A. in English and communication at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, and an M.A. in public communication at American University in Washington, DC.

Nicola Dunbar, Ph.D., is a program manager at the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care with responsibility for a range of program areas, including the deteriorating patient, primary health care, and patient-centered care. Dr. Dunbar has a background in health research, program management, and policy development and has worked for government, universities, and nongovernment organizations at local, state, and national levels. She has a Ph.D. in neuropsychology and HIV infection, and a master’s in policy.

Federica Gazzotti, Ph.D., completed her doctorate in sociology with an emphasis on communication, following a degree in Oriental Languages.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Speaker Biosketches." Institute of Medicine. 2013. Health Literacy: Improving Health, Health Systems, and Health Policy Around the World: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18325.
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She joined the Local Health Authority of Reggio Emilia, Italy, in 1998, focusing on public health communication. Dr. Gazzotti is responsible for the communication staff activities, which include front office and citizens welcome, public relations, press releases, Web communication management (internal and public website), and conference/training organization. She coordinates the Health Literacy Panel for the Emilia-Romagna Region, which facilitates and oversees health literacy projects in all the local health units of the region.

Steven J. Hoffman is an assistant professor of clinical epidemiology and biostatistics at McMaster University in Canada, and serves as a fellow in the executive office of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, where he offers strategic and technical input on a range of global health issues. A lawyer by training, Mr. Hoffman previously worked as a cross-border intellectual property litigator and held several positions with the World Health Organization (WHO). He continues to advise WHO on the development of a global strategy for health systems research. In the area of health literacy, Steven chairs an academic advisory committee on health and science, reporting for Canada’s only national weekly current affairs magazine.

Fikry W. Isaac, M.D., M.P.H., FACOEM, is vice president, global health services, Johnson & Johnson. Dr. Isaac leads the development of health and wellness strategies, policies, guidelines, and services worldwide (Occupational Medicine, Employee Assistance Program and Wellness). Dr. Isaac has been with Johnson & Johnson since 1989, and for the past 10 years, he has been driving the comprehensive Total Health programs that have reduced the company’s health care costs and improved the health of employees. He also serves as the chief medical officer for Wellness & Prevention, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company. In this role, he provides health management expertise and strategic direction and supports customer acquisition and lead generation. In addition to his M.D., he received his master of public health degree in occupational medicine from the Medical College of Wisconsin in May 2001. He is a fellow of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, where he chairs the Pharmaceutical Section and the Corporate Health Achievement Award. Dr. Isaac is the industry co-chair of the Life Science and Innovation Forum–APEC. He also serves on several boards, including the Partnership for Prevention, the Global Health & Benefits Institute, and the Health Enhancement Research Organization.

Ilona Kickbusch, Ph.D., is the director of the Global Health Programme at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Speaker Biosketches." Institute of Medicine. 2013. Health Literacy: Improving Health, Health Systems, and Health Policy Around the World: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18325.
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She is the chair of Global Health Europe, a platform for European Commitment to Global Health and of the Consortium on Global Health Diplomacy. In Switzerland, she serves on the executive board of the Careum Foundation and is the chairperson of the World Demography and Ageing Congress, St. Gallen. She is senior advisor to the regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe.

She advises organizations, government agencies, and the private sector on policies and strategies to promote health at the national, European, and international levels. She has published widely and is a member of a number of advisory boards in both the academic and the health policy arena. She has received many awards. In 2007, she was appointed as the Adelaide Thinker in Residence for the subject area “Healthy Societies” at the invitation of the premier of South Australia and continues to be involved in a range of projects in South Australia, in particular as regards Health in All Policies.

Her key areas of interest are Health in All Policies, the health society and health literacy, global health governance, and global health diplomacy. She has had a distinguished career with WHO at both the regional and the global level. She then joined Yale University as the head of the global health division, where she contributed to shaping the field of global health and headed a major Fulbright program. She is a political scientist with a Ph.D. from the University of Konstanz, Germany. Details can be found on her website: http://www.ilonakickbusch.com.

Jacob Kumaresan, M.D., Dr.P.H., is currently executive director, World Health Organization (WHO) Office at the United Nations in New York. Earlier, he was director at the WHO Centre for Health Development in Kobe, Japan, from 2008 to 2011, and president of the International Trachoma Initiative, a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating the leading cause of preventable blindness, from 2003 to 2007. He joined WHO headquarters in Geneva in 1992, where he eventually headed the Stop TB Partnership, expanding efforts to meet the global targets to stop tuberculosis. He has widespread public health experience and worked with the governments of Zimbabwe and Botswana during the 1980s.

Diane Levin-Zamir, Ph.D., M.P.H., MCHES, is director of the National Department of Health Education and Promotion of Clalit, Israel’s largest health service organization, and lecturer in health promotion in the Schools of Public Health in Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Hebrew Universities. Dr. Levin-Zamir is a summa cum laude graduate of Tufts University in Boston, and earned a M.P.H. and Ph.D. from the Braun School of Public Health of Hadassah Hospital and Hebrew University’s Faculty of Medicine in Jerusalem.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Speaker Biosketches." Institute of Medicine. 2013. Health Literacy: Improving Health, Health Systems, and Health Policy Around the World: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18325.
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Dr. Levin-Zamir specializes in action research in health promotion in community primary care, hospital and media settings, media health literacy, and measuring health literacy, and she currently leads the Israel Health Literacy Survey. She has specialized in health promotion among special groups—children and adolescents, the elderly, and people with chronic conditions—and health promotion in multicultural settings. She is active in promoting comprehensive and sustainable health promotion implementation on national and local levels. She teaches health promotion planning, evaluation, and health literacy in medical, public health, and health professional training frameworks. Dr. Levin-Zamir has published extensively on various aspects of health literacy and health promotion. She is one of the founding members of the Israel Association of Health Promoters and Educators and is an active member of the National Council for Health Promotion of Israel’s Ministry of Health.

Dr. Levin-Zamir has fulfilled a number of leadership roles in the International Union of Health Education and Promotion, is chairperson of the Global Working Group on Health Literacy, serves on the editorial board of the Global Health Promotion Journal, and is editor of the HP-Source.com for building capacity in health promotion.

Jennifer Lynch, M.A., is projects coordinator at the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA). She is responsible for health literacy project initiatives. Jennifer joined NALA in 1997 as their first communications officer. Ms. Lynch, who holds a diploma in Plain English, introduced Plain English to the agency and other government agencies. She has been responsible for commissioning and managing IT projects such as www.literacytools.ie. She has an M.A. in sociology University College Cork and a postgraduate diploma in public relations Dublin Institute of Technology.

Don Nutbeam, Ph.D., FFPH, is vice-chancellor of the University of Southampton, a position he has held since 2009. His career has spanned positions in universities, government, health services, and an independent research institute. From 2003 to 2009, he was in senior academic roles in the University of Sydney, Australia, and prior to this he was head of public health in the UK Department of Health. His research interests have included social and behavioral interventions in schools and communities as well as studies of health literacy and adolescent health behavior. He is author of more than 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals as well as two popular public health textbooks. He remains active in research (within the constraints of his current role) through funded projects and Ph.D. student supervision. Dr. Nutbeam has substantial international experience in both developing and developed countries, working as an

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Speaker Biosketches." Institute of Medicine. 2013. Health Literacy: Improving Health, Health Systems, and Health Policy Around the World: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18325.
×

advisor and consultant for the World Health Organization over a 20-year period, and as consultant and team leader in projects for the World Bank.

Jürgen M. Pelikan, D.Phil., is a trained sociologist and psychologist (at the Universities of Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna, London School of Economics, and Columbia University) specializing in teaching and research in sociological systems theory, health promotion and health literacy, sociology of health and health care, and sociology of organizations (with a focus on organizational change), based in Vienna, Austria. At present he is professor emeritus of sociology at Vienna University, key researcher and director of World Health Organization Collaborating Center (WHO-CC) for Health Promotion in Hospitals and Health Care at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute Health Promotion Research, Vienna, Austria, and adjunct professor at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia.

In the last two decades, he has focused his basic and applied research on reform of health care (psychiatric care, medical education, quality in health care) and development of health promotion in theory and practice (theory of health, settings approach, health promoting hospitals). In these areas, he has directed several European and Austrian research projects and has supported the International Network of Health Promoting Hospitals and Health Services from its beginning in 1990 in his capacity as director of a corresponding WHO-CC.

He has done research on health literacy since 2001, being the project director of the European Project on Migrant Friendly Hospitals (2002–2005), whose three subprojects (interpreting in clinical communication, training and information in mother and child care, and cultural competence training for staff) had a strong focus on health literacy. Following this project, he was involved in workshops on health literacy at the European Health Forum in Gastein, Austria, and in European conferences on public health. He belonged to a group of European researchers initiating the European Health Literacy Survey (2009–2012) supported by European Commission, DG Sanco. In this project, he was a member of the project steering group, responsible for the Austrian part of the study and the report on overall and comparative analysis of health literacy data of the European project (WP 6). Currently, he also is directing the analysis for a specific report on health literacy in Austria and its regions and an additional Austrian study on health literacy of 15-year-old adolescents. Within the International Union of Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE), where he is a member of the board of trustees, he has together with colleagues initiated a working group on health literacy. He was jointly responsible for a stream on health literacy at the 20th IUHPE World Conference, 2010, in Geneva, and is planning one for the 21st IUPHE World Conference, 2013, in Pattaya. At present he also is working as co-editor

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Speaker Biosketches." Institute of Medicine. 2013. Health Literacy: Improving Health, Health Systems, and Health Policy Around the World: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18325.
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and contributor on a WHO publication Solid Facts of Health Literacy. He will be a principal investigator in a EU-FP 7 project on diabetes literacy.

Scott C. Ratzan, M.D., M.P.A., is vice president, global health, Johnson & Johnson (J&J), and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives. Dr. Ratzan is co-chair of the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General’s Innovation Working Group on Women and Children’s Health. He presented the “Framework for Action for the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases” at the UN General Assembly interactive hearing in June 2011 as chair of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations NCD Taskforce. He currently serves on the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on health and well-being.

Dr. Ratzan continues research in health literacy, as he is the co-author of the definition that serves as the basis for U.S. efforts in this area. He currently is a member of the Institute of Medicine’s Roundtable on Health Literacy. In 2010, he testified before the U.S. Congressional Committee on Achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals: Progress Through Partnerships. In 2009, he was selected by Research!America as an ambassador for global health research.

Dr. Ratzan initially joined J&J in 2002 as vice president for European Government Affairs and Policy based in Brussels. From 2005 to 2008, he served as the industry representative on the European Union High Level Pharmaceutical Forum Working Group on Information to Patients. Prior to joining J&J, he was senior technical adviser in the Bureau of Global Health at the U.S. Agency for International Development, where he developed the global health communication strategy for U.S.-funded efforts. He spent a decade in Boston (1988–1998) in academia as founder and director of the Emerson-Tufts Program in Health Communication, a joint master’s degree program between Emerson College and Tufts University School of Medicine. In 1998, he moved to Washington, where he worked at the Academy for Educational Development on domestic and global health policy and innovation. He currently maintains faculty appointments at Tufts University School of Medicine and George Washington University Medical Center, and the University of Cambridge, Judge Business School.

His books include The Mad Cow Crisis: Health and the Public Good, Attaining Global Health: Challenges and Opportunities, and AIDS: Effective Health Communication for the 90s. He also has delivered many presentations, including the Leiter Lecture on Quality Health Communication for the National Library of Medicine and an address on risk communication for the National Cancer Institute which was selected in Vital Speeches of the Day. Dr. Ratzan has appeared on Good Morning America and Nightline and has published articles in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Speaker Biosketches." Institute of Medicine. 2013. Health Literacy: Improving Health, Health Systems, and Health Policy Around the World: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18325.
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Financial Times and in academic journals, including JAMA and the Lancet. Dr. Ratzan drafted “Maxims for Effective Communication on Health and Risk Issues,” which was published as part of a World Health Organization Consultation in 1998.

He received an M.D. from the University of Southern California, an M.P.A. from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and an M.A. (communication) from Emerson College.

Michael Rosenblatt, M.D., scientist, educator, and hospital and global health care company executive, is executive vice president and chief medical officer at Merck & Co., Inc. He represents the voice of the patient and medicine inside Merck and is the company’s primary external advocate on medical issues.

He is the first person to serve in this role for Merck. Previously, he served as dean of Tufts University School of Medicine. Prior to that, he held the appointment of George R. Minot Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and chief of the Division of Bone and Mineral Metabolism Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). He served as the president of BIDMC from 1999 to 2001. Previously, he was the Harvard faculty dean and senior vice president for academic programs at CareGroup and BIDMC and a founder of the Carl J. Shapiro Institute for Education and Research at Harvard Medical School and BIDMC, a joint venture whose mission is to manage the academic enterprise and promote academic innovation.

Prior to that, he served as director of the Harvard–Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Division of Health Sciences and Technology, during which time he led a medical education organization for M.D., Ph.D., and M.D.-Ph.D. training jointly sponsored by Harvard and MIT. And earlier, he was senior vice president for research at Merck Sharp & Dohme Research Laboratories, where he co-led the worldwide development team for alendronate (FOSAMAX), Merck’s bisphosphonate for osteoporosis and bone disorders. In addition, he directed drug discovery efforts in molecular biology, bone biology and calcium metabolism, virology, cancer research, lipid metabolism, and cardiovascular research in the United States, Japan, and Italy. In leading most of Merck’s international research efforts, he established two major basic research institutes, one in Tsukuba, Japan, and one near Rome, Italy. He also headed Merck Research’s worldwide University and Industry Relations Department.

He is the recipient of the Fuller Albright Award for his work on parathyroid hormone and the Vincent du Vigneaud Award in peptide chemistry and biology, and the Chairman’s Award from Merck. His research is in the field of hormonal regulation of calcium metabolism, osteoporosis, and cancer metastasis to bone. His major research projects are in the design

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Speaker Biosketches." Institute of Medicine. 2013. Health Literacy: Improving Health, Health Systems, and Health Policy Around the World: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18325.
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of peptide hormone antagonists for parathyroid hormone and the tumor-secreted parathyroid hormone-like protein, isolation/characterization of receptors and mapping hormone—receptor interactions, elucidating the mechanisms by which breast cancer “homes” to bone, and osteoporosis and bone biology.

He has been an active participant in the biotechnology industry, serving on the board of directors and scientific advisory boards of several biotech companies. He was a scientific founder of ProScript, the company that discovered bortezomib (Velcade), now Millennium Pharmaceutical’s drug for multiple myeloma and other malignancies. He was a member of the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health. He has been elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, to fellowship in the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American College of Physicians, and the presidency of the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research. He has testified before a Senate hearing on U.S. biomedical research priorities in 1997, and in 2011 as a consultant to the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

From 1981 to 1984, he served as chief of the endocrine unit, Massachusetts General Hospital. He received his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from Columbia University and his M.D. magna cum laude from Harvard University. His internship, residency, and endocrinology training were all at the Massachusetts General Hospital.

Kristine Sørensen is researcher and project coordinator for the European Health Literacy Project hosted by the Department of International Health at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. She is the focal point for Health Literacy Europe, the European health literacy network. Ms. Sørensen is also engaged in other related projects such as the Joint Venture on Health Literacy with CSR Europe, which integrates health literacy into business action and corporate social responsibility, and the study on health literacy and the right to access to health in collaboration with the Council of Europe. In addition, she works closely with members of the European Parliament, the European Commission (DG Sanco), and the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe to establish health literacy on the European health agenda.

Since 2007, she has been involved in the bachelor and master of European Public Health programs at the Maastricht University in various functions. Furthermore, she is a visiting lecturer at Centre for European Studies in Maastricht and the National School of Public Health in Lisbon, and she collaborates closely with Copenhagen and Aarhus University in Denmark.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Speaker Biosketches." Institute of Medicine. 2013. Health Literacy: Improving Health, Health Systems, and Health Policy Around the World: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18325.
×

Being Danish of origin her educational background is in medicine and public health with a bachelor’s/master’s degree in public health science from Copenhagen University. At present she is finalizing her Ph.D. studies at the research school CAPHRI/Maastricht University on the topic of health literacy in Europe.

Ms. Sørensen has held several organizational honorary positions at national, regional, and international levels. Currently, she is a member of the program committee in CaRe, Netherlands, Research School on Primary Care, and the board of commissioners in Kindante—an umbrella organization of 50 primary schools in the Limburg region of the Netherlands embracing more than 1,000 staff members and 10,000 pupils.

Suzanne Thompson, M.S., vice president for R&D, The Clorox Company, currently leads the Global Stewardship and Innovation group. In this role, she leads technology, design, corporate innovation, product stewardship, and regulatory issues. Prior to her current role, Ms. Thompson led the Cleaning Division R&D group starting in 2008. She has been working in the consumer packaged goods industry at The Clorox Company for the last 26 years in R&D. She has had experience in process, product, and packaging development for divisions such as Kingsford Charcoal, laundry, home care, auto, foods, litter, and professional products.

A native of Missouri, Ms. Thompson holds a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Sandra Vamos, Ed.D., Ed.S., M.S., is a senior advisor on health education and health literacy for the Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control at the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). Dr. Vamos joined PHAC from the faculty of education at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia, as an associate professor of health education and graduate coordinator. Her expertise, developed through her experiences in Canada, Australia, and the United States, includes health-promoting schools, health literacy, curriculum development, and teacher preparation. Her government work focuses on providing leadership and collaboration with key stakeholders such as academics, public health practitioners, and policy makers on knowledge development, dissemination, exchange, and translation of innovative health literacy interventions. Dr. Vamos provides strategic agency direction and contribution to the development and implementation of frameworks, approaches, tools, and products to build internal and external capacity for building health literacy awareness and the application of concepts into public health practices and programs. Her higher education work focused on both

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Speaker Biosketches." Institute of Medicine. 2013. Health Literacy: Improving Health, Health Systems, and Health Policy Around the World: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18325.
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creating and restructuring university-level health education programs and improvements in school health education (K–12) to enhance health literacy through curricular and programmatic innovations emphasizing partnerships, including families, schools, communities and local, state/provincial, national and international organizations, associations, and institutions.

Dr. Vamos previously served as a faculty member in the Department of Exercise Science, School Health Education Master of Science program at Southern Connecticut State University. In Connecticut, she participated as a state trainer in the National Health Education Assessment Project initiative designed to direct improvements in health education planning and delivery to promote health literacy by aligning curriculum, instruction, and assessment. She also served as a faculty member and program coordinator at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, where she developed both undergraduate and graduate health education programs.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Speaker Biosketches." Institute of Medicine. 2013. Health Literacy: Improving Health, Health Systems, and Health Policy Around the World: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18325.
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Speaker Biosketches." Institute of Medicine. 2013. Health Literacy: Improving Health, Health Systems, and Health Policy Around the World: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18325.
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The roots of health literacy can be traced back to the national literacy movement in India under Gandhi and to aid groups working in Africa to promote education and health. The term health literacy was first used in 1974 and described as "health education meeting minimal standards for all school grade levels". From that first use the definition of health literacy evolved during the next 30 years with official definitions promulgated by government agencies and large programs. Despite differences among these definitions, they all hold in common the idea that health literacy involves the need for people to understand information that helps them maintain good health.

Although the United States produces a majority of the research on health literacy, Europe has strong multinational programs as well as research efforts, and health literacy experts in developing countries have created successful programs implemented on a community level. Given these distinct strengths of efforts worldwide, there are many opportunities for collaboration. International collaboration can harness the United States' research power, Europe's multilingual and multinational experience, and developing nations' community-based programs to create robust programs and research that reach people—not based on language or nationality but on need and value.

A workshop on international health literacy efforts that feature presentations and discussion about health literacy interventions from various countries as well as other topics related to international health literacy was held as the basis for this report. Health Literacy: Improving Health, Health Systems, and Health Policy Around the World summarizes the findings and discussions at the workshop.

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