Composing Health Literacies: Perspectives and Resources for Undergraduate Writing Instruction

237 Pages·2023·2.851 MB·English

by  Michael J. Madson

COMPOSING HEALTH
LITERACIES
This edited collection examines engagements between health literacies and
undergraduate writing instruction, providing research, case studies, and practical
guidance on developing an interdisciplinary writing pedagogy.
Bringing together works from scholars in rhetoric and composition, technical
communication, UX, public health, nursing, and writing center administration,
this collection showcases a range of evidence-based practices for composing,
teaching, and assessing health literacies, which the readers can apply to their own
contexts. Using non-specialist language accessible to instructors from a variety of
backgrounds, the chapters consider the use of writing assignments including image
analyses, public service announcements, podcasts, health education materials, illness
narratives, public presentations, research proposals, and journal articles. The book
offers a holistic overview by profiling entire writing programs, both online and
face-to-face, that teach health literacies across their curricula.
This evidence-based collection is essential reading for scholars and instructors
in rhetoric and composition, writing in the health professions, technical
communication, and health humanities, and can be used as a supplemental
textbook for pedagogy courses in these fields.
Michael J. Madson is an Assistant Professor at Arizona State University, USA
where he teaches courses in healthcare communication and user experience. He
is also an adjunct Associate Professor at the Medical University of South Carolina,
USA where he runs an online undergraduate writing course that explores health
literacy, bioethics, and interprofessional education. He is the editor of Teaching
writing in the health professions: Perspectives, problems, and practices (2022).

COMPOSING
HEALTH LITERACIES
Perspectives and Resources
for Undergraduate Writing
Instruction
Edited by Michael J. Madson
Designed cover image: © Getty Images
First published 2023
by Routledge
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© 2023 selection and editorial matter, Michael J. Madson, individual
chapters, the contributors
The right of Michael J. Madson to be identified as the author of the
editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been
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and Patents Act 1988.
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Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
ISBN: 978-1-032-32798-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-29926-6 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-31677-0 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003316770
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To Kent “Duke” Stuetz and Tami Robins, models of fortitude

CONTENTS
List of contributors ix
Introduction: The Intersections of Health Literacies and
Undergraduate Writing Instruction 1
Michael J. Madson
PART I
Assignments and Courses 15
1 Engaging Health Literacies through Multimodal Projects
in First-Year Writing 17
Karen Diane Groller
2 Teaching Critical Thinking for Critical Health Literacies:
A Problem-Based Writing Approach 31
Kasey Larson, Jill Paterson-Charles, and Karina Daniel
3 First Do No Harm: Promoting Health Literacies through
Empathy Adventures in the Writing Classroom and
Beyond 56
Allison S. Walker
4 Rhetorical Aesthetics and Health Literacies 72
Jarron Slater
viii Contents
5 Cross-Disciplinary Vaccine Education through a
Campus-Community Partnership 89
Michael J. Klein
PART II
Programs 103
6 Context Matters: Identifying Strategic Opportunities to
Support Health Literacies through Writing Interventions 105
Lucy Bryan Malenke
7 Reflection for Health Literacies in the Health Science
Curriculum 137
Yuko Taniguchi, Aaron Bruenger, Bronson Lemer, and
Jennifer Wacek
8 Writing Across the Health Literacies Curriculum:
The Bachelor of Healthcare Studies Program at MUSC 159
Michael J. Madson, Elizabeth A. Brown, Elinor Borgert,
Catherine VanderWerker, and Lauren Geller
PART III
Extensions 179
9 Cultural Health Navigation and Health Literacy
Sponsorship: Implications for the Undergraduate
Writing Curriculum 181
Katherine E. Morelli
10 Making Well-Informed Decisions: Data Collection,
Health Information, and Undergraduate Writing
Instruction 195
Charles Woods and Noah Wason
11 Creating Content for Contexts of Care: A Cognitive
Approach to Achieving Health Literacies through
Usability 207
Kirk St.Amant
Index 222
CONTRIBUTORS
Elinor Borgert received her Ph.D. in Health Policy and Administration
(minoring in Epidemiology) from the University of North Carolina in Chapel
Hill. She has served on the faculty at the Medical University of South Carolina in
Charleston, SC, USA since 1999, interrupted only by a 5-year term as the Dean
of Student Affairs at Belmont University’s School of Pharmacy in Nashville,
TN, USA.
Elizabeth A. Brown is an academic educator and health services researcher who
focuses on social determinants of health, particularly race/ethnicity, access to
primary care, health care policy, and chronic conditions. In December 2022, Dr.
Brown joined Old Dominion University, USA, where she serves as their Public
Health Director for the Bachelor of Science program.
Aaron Bruenger is a Senior Lecturer in the Center for Learning Innovation
at the University of Minnesota Rochester, USA. He teaches writing and
communication courses in the Bachelor of Science in Health Science and
Bachelor of Science in Health Professions programs, and has research interests
in pedagogy, rhetorical theory and criticism, narrative theory, and reflective
writing/communication.
Karina Daniel is an instructor in the Specialized English Language Programs
(SELP) at St. George’s University (SGU), Grenada. She is the course director for
Communication for the Health Professions I, an academic writing course that
focuses on helping pre-medical and pre-veterinary students read, evaluate, and
communicate research. This course is the foundation to Communications for
the Health Professions II (CHP II), which she taught for three years.