NEWS (6/25/13 Briefing): HRA’s Carrie Graham presented her team's research findings about recent transitions of seniors and persons with disabilities to Medi-Cal managed care at a briefing on "Medicaid Managed Care in the Era of Health Reform." View the video at http://bcove.me/qrmaho9t.Read more...

HRA's Dr. Carrie Graham, presented preliminary research findings at a Sacramento briefing about the SPD population's experiences moving to Medi-Cal Managed Care.

HRA collaborated with the California Office of the Patient Advocate and Department of Managed Health Care to educate Californians about their rights and responsibilities under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Professor Linda Neuhauser gave the keynote address at Israel's National Health Promotion conference in Jerusalem on November 7. Her presentation, "Participatory Design for Successful Health Promotion," described the value of our Health Research for Action model to co-develop programs with beneficiaries and stakeholders.

The PBS NewsHour recently featured a report on an oral health intervention in rural El Salvador, started by Professor Karen Sokal-Gutierrez in 2004. The model program has expanded to other countries, where volunteers promote oral health among children and families, train health workers, and donate supplies.

HRA and Consumer Reports are educating consumers about unnecessary medical tests and procedures. HRA is bringing health literacy and clear communication principles to the Consumer Reports “Choosing Wisely” project. The materials developed will help inform consumers’ medical decision-making. This project coincides with the recent recommendations by the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation and eight other medical specialty boards to reduce the use of 45 common tests, procedures, and medications.

New federal rules announced this week will help consumers get consistent, clear information upfront, before they buy insurance, helping them to choose the plan that best meets their needs. HRA has carefully listened to consumer needs and produced a wide variety of plain language tools

Growing evidence points to chemical exposure as a significant risk factor for many chronic diseases. In the latest issue of Perspectives, environmental health and health communications experts discuss the use of best practices in health literacy to inform the public about biomonitoring, measuring chemicals in humans.

Linda Neuhauser co-authored a chapter on “Readability, Comprehension, and Usability” in Communicating Risks and Benefits: An Evidence-Based User's Guide.