How to Prepare for a Medical Appointment
A before, during and after guide with a one-page note you can copy, so the short time in the room goes on what matters most to you.
Health Basics
Health literacy for everyday use: preparing for an appointment, asking questions about tests and treatments, keeping a medicines list, judging online information, and understanding risk, screening and health news.
Finding Reliable Health Information Online
Five questions to ask of any health page, post or app: who, what, when, where and why. With one search followed from start to finish.
Understanding Relative and Absolute Risk
Why '50% higher risk' can mean one extra case in a thousand, shown with one invented example worked through step by step.
How to Read a Health News Headline More Carefully
An eight-point checklist applied to one invented headline, plus a three-question version for days when you have a minute.
Questions to Ask When a Test or Treatment Is Suggested
Four short questions, known in the UK as BRAN, plus a few more for tests and treatments, and how to use them to take part in the decision.
Keeping an Up-to-Date List of Medicines and Supplements
What to write down, a four-column template to copy, why supplements go on the same list, and how to keep it current.
What a Screening Test Can — and Cannot — Tell You
Screening looks for a higher chance of a condition in people who feel well. What a result means, what it cannot settle, and three terms worth knowing.