San Antonio, Texas — An individual’s health literacy — the ability to find, understand and use health information — can vary during one’s life. Most all of us will find ourselves needing support at one point or another.

Because of that, Health Confianza’s co-director Jason Rosenfeld wanted to train community members to serve as Ambassadors, providing health information and local resources to community members where and when they need it.

Enter the Confianza Ambassador Program with the goal of creating a bridge between healthcare and the community. To begin, Health Confianza and its partners identified 15 trusted and respected community leaders who were motivated to serve as community educators and resources for the greater community.

The Confianza Ambassadors were selected for their ability to be local champions, people who can build connections with hard-to-reach populations and create innovative health messaging.

Over a period of months, the Ambassadors were trained to deliver scientifically accurate preventive health information, that is both culturally and linguistically appropriate. The Ambassadors would meet weekly to receive training on topics including teach-back (a method for sharing health information) and community outreach.

There were eight in-person sessions followed by monthly check-in meetings to discuss upcoming opportunities, challenges and share resources.

Stand-out Ambassador

One Ambassador, Jessica Route, saw the program as a great match for her life experiences and personal desire to serve.

Route was approached with the opportunity to become a Health Confianza Ambassador while she was working for WestCare Texas in its Americorp program as an HIV peer navigator. Under WestCare Texas, she also received her medical assistant and phlebotomy certifications last year. This year, she moved into a position as an Opiate Impacted Family Support Navigator.

“I like being impactful and helping community members. My life’s ambition is to give back to the community, so I’ve seen it as an opportunity to not only learn for myself but also to help others,” Route said.

Route’s experience as an HIV navigator motivated her to want to improve her skills in communicating complex health issues and resources.

“I suppose it’s the lack of education that causes a stigma around HIV, because of what they don’t know. But if they understood better, there would be less for them to fear,” she said. “Not everyone is on the same level. There are barriers and sometimes it just takes being able to explain to them the simplest things, so they’ll understand the bigger things.”

Route said going through the Ambassador program, including delivering a final presentation, helped to boost her confidence in working with people who are living with HIV.

Along with her work with WestCare, she considers herself an “alumna” of Corazon Ministries, which helps houseless individuals in addiction with services, food, housing and other resources. Route stays active with Corazon Ministries and volunteers at Travis Park Church.

In her work as an Ambassador, Route engaged in a mix of activities, from creating social media posts and flyers to attending events and having one-on-one conversations with community. She enjoyed creating a flyer on respiratory illnesses from scratch, which included an explanation of how the respiratory system works.

“What Health Confianza did was educate and inform me, and I was able to share some of that with the community,” she said.

As part of the program, Ambassadors met regularly to share information and work through challenges.

“When I go to a meeting, I feel like we can narrow down (an issue) and get on the same page. I also appreciate sharing resources. There are some many resources that people don’t know about it. They may not even use the internet for whatever reason, so word of mouth is how they learn about things,” she said.

The Ambassador program is “the opportunity to be a bridge. To connect people to resources and information services that they may not know is available. And it feels powerful to be that link between confusion and clarity,” Route said.

 

 

San Antonio, Texas — In 2025, Health Confianza set out to deliver a virtual learning series on health literacy, a topic that may not be on every health professional’s radar but has the potential to transform how they communicate with patients and clients.

Health Confianza, a health literacy program housed at The University of Texas at San Antonio, provides workforce training, health education, community outreach and health communication services. The program targets health professionals, community health workers, students and others interested in leveraging health literacy best practices to improve the health outcomes of communities.

The web series, titled “Communicating with Confianza – a health literacy ECHO,” attracted more than 270 registrants (an average of 40 participants per session) from Texas and 11 other states, and as far away as Mexico, India and Uganda.

It was delivered in partnership with ECHO® (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes), an evidence-based workforce training model that connects specialist hubs with healthcare and public health professionals to improve service delivery through peer to peer and case-based learning .

“Communicating with Confianza is one of our most popular ECHOs to date,”  said Jason Rosenfeld, DrPH, MPH, CHWI, co-director of Health Confianza, director of Global Health, The University of Texas at San Antonio. “One reason is that there is a growing understanding of the importance of health literacy in addressing health inequities. Professionals are looking for effective ways to reach people, build trust and create positive experiences. Through this ECHO model, we are able to offer relevant topics, first class presenters, and an interactive format with case study discussions.”

Communicating with Confianza was comprised of two six-part sessions (during the fall of 2025 and concluding in the spring of 2026) designed to provide health literacy  training, resources, and knowledge-sharing for Bexar County and surrounding communities.

Health Confianza collaborated with professionals from YWCA San Antonio, South Central Area Health Education Center (AHEC), and the UT Health San Antonio ECHO team to design and deliver the series. Together they formed the ECHO HUB team, a multidisciplinary group of subject matter experts—including specialists, clinicians, and educators.

We asked one member of the ECHO HUB team what she thought the secret was to Communicating with Confianza’s success.

“This ECHO program has really great reach, interaction, and learning,” said Angela Reilly Cruz, senior community outreach coordinator, UT San Antonio, “The conversations are dynamic and engaging. I think what has made it so successful is the community engagement, excellent HUB team, and strong presence that Health Confianza has.”

The ECHO organizers invited presenters from The University of Texas at San Antonio, The University of Texas at Austin, and the San Antonio Nursing Consortium, among other institutions, to speak on health literacy-related topics, including: Shaking the Shame and Blame from Clinical Practice; Use of Plain Language; Bridging the Gap with Teach-Back; and Internet Literacy.

Who logged on?

Besides the topics, another thing that sets the Communicating with Confianza ECHO apart from other training programs is that it drew a diversity of health professionals which led to interesting questions and dialogue. The ECHO drew nurses, caregivers, case managers, elementary school teachers, epidemiologists, primary care physicians, nutritionists, public health officials and more.

At the end of each session, a volunteer from the community of participants would present a case study for discussion.

“Each real-life case study drew out a rich conversation between participants and a sharing of resources and tools,” said Melanie Stone, DrPH, MEd, co-director of Health Confianza, Assistant Professor of Family & Community Medicine and Director of Community Engaged Learning. “Giving people the platform to discuss real-life challenges is one of the best learning tools at our disposal in healthcare.”

ECHO participants surveyed after sessions were largely impressed with the format and case discussions.

Some of the commenters said they enjoyed learning new information, sharing cases from across the state, receiving new tools such as visual aids, and becoming introduced to new approaches, such as how to interact effectively with patients. Several people complimented the Teach-Back presentation by Melanie Stone, who was also part of the ECHO Hub team.

All sessions are available on the ECHO website: https://wp.uthscsa.edu/echo/echo-programs/communicating-with-confianza-a-health-literacy-echo/

 

 

 

San Antonio, TEXAS —During our May 15^th Building Confianza health literacy summit, we honored the incredible individuals and organizations that have gone above and beyond to champion health literacy and community well-being through the first-ever Confianza Awards ceremony. From our dedicated Community Health Clubs and Ambassadors to our transformative Pledge Program and Main Partners, each award represents a commitment to a healthier Bexar County.

Community Health Club

Our first award went to our most active Community Health Clubs. These peer-led groups are the heartbeat of our wellness initiatives, providing essential education on the health topics that matter most to our community. For their tireless work in inspiring healthier lifestyles and strengthening our collective well-being, we are proud to recognize them today.

• Country Club Village
• Corazones de Westside (St. Timothy’s)
• Sunshine Club
• Victoria Plaza
• Hidden Hearts Health Club
• Rancho Sierra Health Club
• SETC Health Club

Pledge Program Members

We spotlighted The Pledge Program, an innovative health literacy initiative from Health Confianza. In celebration of our second cohort of organizations, which devoted staff time and talent to become a more health literate organization.

• Big Mama’s Safe House
• Family Service
• Patriot Vita Care
• Raindrop Foundation
• The South-Central Area Health Education Center
• The Institute for Public Health and Education

Peer Mentors

We recognized our peer mentors for their vital support during this program. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and turning potential into purpose. (Award)

• Angelita Negron. Program Director at Empower House San Antonio
• Jessica Rios. Health Equity Director at Community First Health Plans.

Pledge Mentors

In appreciation of everything they’ve done to champion health literacy.

• Sabrina Kurtz-Rossi, Assistant Professor Tufts University
• Gail Nielsen Faculty at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement
• Lindsay Rosenfeld, Health literacy instructor at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health
• Teresa Wagner, Assistant professor UNT Health Fort Worth

Ambassadors

We also recognized the following Ambassadors for their outstanding dedication to the community. Their leadership is creating a powerful, lasting impact exactly where it’s needed most.

• Lisa Ezpinoza
• Jessica Route
• Candi Diaz
• Alicia Sanchez-Esquivel

Main Partners

We honored our main partners. These organizations are the cornerstone of our collective impact, turning shared vision into community reality.

• YWCA San Antonio: We recognize your team’s collaboration and commitment to advancing health and creating opportunities for all of Bexar County.
• South Central Area Health Education Center (AHEC): We honor your team’s dedication to advancing healthcare knowledge and expanding access throughout our region.
• WestCare Texas: Thank you for your team’s commitment to health prevention and for building a more resilient, healthier Bexar County.
• Southside Collaborative: We celebrate your team’s collaborative leadership and community-centered approach to addressing the unique needs of South Bexar County.

This article was contributed by Ana Pineda, MPH, Research Coordinator-Senior at UT Health San Antonio

 

San Antonio, TEXAS —  Health Confianza and its main partners – South Central Area Health Education Center (AHEC), Southside Collaborative, YWCA San Antonio and WestCare Texas – Ella Austin – celebrated the end of a two-year grant at the Building Confianza: Voices, Lesson and Actions health literacy summit on May 15^th at Texas A&M San Antonio. .

The free summit was a community-focused wrap-up of a grant from Bexar County Public Health, which supported workforce training, health webinars, mobile clinics, community health clubs, organizational health literacy, technology and health communications. The event attracted community members, health professionals, nonprofit leaders, public health professionals and more. In all, more than 120 attendees participated in the day’s activities.

Special guests included Claude A. Jacob, DrPH, MPH, director of the City of San Antonio Metro Health, and Andrea Guerrero, PhD, MPH, director of Bexar County Public Health. Matthew Dacso, MD, MSc, FACP, Director of the Charles E. Cheever Jr. Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics served as MC for the interactive event.

Notably, the summit also had its first Confianza Awards, recognizing the many health professionals, nonprofit workers, community health workers and community members who have participated in one or more of our programs in effort to improve our community’s health and well-being.

During the summit, Health Confianza launched its Health Begins with Confianza campaign, a preventive health campaign comprised of free health roadmaps for men, women, babies, children/teen and older adults and other education tools. Health Confianza will host a free train-the-trainer session on the campaign that is open to students, community health workers, nonprofit and health professionals on July 8. The trainees will receive facilitator guides, showing community health workers and others how to share the roadmaps at health fairs, in classrooms, and in one-on-one settings.

To learn more about Health Confianza, visit Health Confianza.org and WellnessCultura.org.

To sign up for Health Begins with Confianza train-the-trainer training, visit: HEALTH BEGINS WITH CONFIANZA FACILITATOR GUIDE TRAINING 

San Antonio, Texas — Health Confianza created a Mad Lib-style fill-in-the-blank coloring sheet for adults and kids. The simple activity has taken off in our community. Feel free to download the “In the Community” coloring sheet for your own communities, and check out some of the responses from our partner WestCare Texas’s community members.

How Southside Collaborative delivered a masterclass in hosting resource fairs.

San Antonio, Texas — Southside Collaborative, a nonprofit serving San Antonio’s Southside and one of Health Confianza’s main partners, started out with a simple goal of bringing a health and resource fair to an area that faces many barriers to health and wellness. Thanks to invested community and partners, the first-ever Southside Collaborative’s Annual Health and Wellness Fiesta, turned into a health fair masterclass.

The event took place in October of 2025, drawing in upwards of 700 people and 65 vendors to the Rancho El Chema, a popular wedding and events venue on the Southside. Vendors delivered health screenings and vaccinations, dental checks, mammograms, kidney exams, and more.

While health and resource fairs often require months of planning and coordination, they offer a powerful way to connect communities with essential services in areas of high need. Southside Collaborative chose to host a fair in response to the Southside’s limited access to basic resources and community amenities.

“There’s a lot of food scarcity. There’s no HEB or Walmart in the area. There’s no VIA bus line. There’s no hospital. There are a lot of barriers to health and wellness,” said Edward Castillo, director of Southside Collaborative. “We decided to hold this event and try to recruit as many different vendors as possible to provide services, like free health checks.”

Given they started planning in summer, what Southside accomplished in a few short months even surprised the organizers. The momentum for the event really took off because of community involvement, Castillo said.

“I really think that this event, and the success of this event, was a beautiful example of what happened when our coalition worked in partnership with the community,” he said.

Demonstrating the impact of providing accessible health services on site, one vendor discovered an attendee had a life-threatening condition during a kidney screening. They provided medication on-site and directed them to emergency follow-up, potentially saving a life.

While the event had a serious goal to provide health services, the organizers also put emphasis on fun to attract families. There was an array of family-friendly activities, music, a dance floor, giveaways, and mascots for the children.

This transformed the event from a “resource fair” into an experience, Castillo said.

Health Confianza asked Castillo and marketing expert Donna Prado, who works with Southside Collaborative, about some of the key ingredients that led to the success of their first health fair. Below are their key takeaways:

 

Takeaways from Southside’s first Health & Wellness Fiesta

1. Deep Community Engagement

The Community Advisory Board (CAB) played a central role—suggesting vendors, identifying venues, spreading the word, and giving real-time feedback on community needs. Community members were genuinely invested because they helped shape the event. And their involvement helped to build trust, credibility and buzz.

2. Boots-on-the-Ground Marketing (Critical in Low-Internet Areas)

Flyers were handed out at churches, laundromats, businesses, football games, community events, and door-to-door because the area has limited Internet access.

Volunteers saturated the area to the point people were saying, “I’ve already heard about this.” This saturation built positive familiarity and anticipation.

3. Strong Partnerships with Local Organizations

Southside ISD was a major amplifier: ads on their Jumbotron, distribution of flyers through school principals, and support from their print shop. Local businesses were engaged intentionally—buying food, printing shirts, hosting signs—building reciprocal relationships that made them eager to help.

4. Choosing a Compelling Venue

The event hall was large, beautiful, and carried local curiosity (“I’ve driven by but never been inside.”).  This “buzz factor” drew people who simply wanted to check it out. Ample space and parking (though parking still became an issue!) made the event feel professional and inviting.

5. Making It Fun and Family-Friendly

They intentionally made the event feel like a fiesta. There were plenty of volunteer mascots (Sparky, Smokey the Bear, McGruff, etc.) There were fire trucks and other kids’ attractions, which in turn bring their parents. There were also free food tickets to keep families on-site longer

6. Wide Variety of Vendors and Services

They crowdsourced vendor ideas through a shared Google Sheet. Over 75 vendors signed up; ~65 attended. They also focused on offering high-value resources: mammograms, kidney screenings, vaccinations, and wellness information.

They did plenty of follow-up with vendors to ensure high attendance and planning accuracy.

7. Flexible, Multichannel Marketing Strategy

Southside spent $300 on targeted Facebook ads (English + Spanish), resulting in approximately 20K impressions. Telemundo showed up unexpectedly and even MC’d, providing major visibility. And print materials were produced affordably via Southside ISD’s print shop.

8. Thoughtful Logistics & Lessons Learned

What worked:

• Evergreen marketing assets (no dates on banners so they can be repurposed).
• Weekly planning meetings.
• Good vendor communication and confirmation.
• What they want to improve next year:
  • More organized parking (overflow + shuttles).
  • A dedicated event webpage with maps, schedules, and vendor lists.
  • Earlier planning (start in January, not July).
  • A more intentional digital communication strategy with vendors, supported by a shared social media toolkit and recommended hashtags to encourage consistent, coordinated promotion.

San Antonio, Tx — Imagine engaging with a community and rapidly learning what people are thinking and feeling about their health and well-being.

As a core function of public health, the capacity to quickly turn data into action is highly valued, but often difficult to realize. At least until now.

Health Confianza is piloting a technological solution called the Community Microphone that allows people to record responses to questions in real time using a cellphone. Their responses are then automatically transcribed and summarized using AI. Public health professionals can further use AI to analyze these data in real time to draw insights, ask questions, and find common themes among responses.

“Although the health priorities and determinants may be similar across Bexar County, each community has its own strengths and challenges that must be acknowledged,” said Jason Rosenfeld, DrPH, MPH, CHWI, co-director of Health Confianza, director of Global Health, The University of Texas at San Antonio. “The Community Microphone gives us a way to hear directly from community about their concerns and solutions, in a non-intrusive way, so that we as public health professionals can better, and more rapidly, tailor our interventions.”

The tool helps reduce the time and manpower typically needed for community assessments using traditional data collection methods like surveys or focus groups. Because this system is automated, the microphone can be used anywhere, anytime, and eventually, in any language.

However, as with any new strategy, there are challenges to consider. Community health workers, who shared the community mics via a QR code on flyers, said that it can be difficult for phone microphones to record responses in noisy environments, such as health fairs. Additionally, the technology only records voice, which may be difficult for those who have difficulty speaking. Lastly, not all community members have access to smart phones.

Health Confianza partnered with Flourish, a Houston-based data analytics company, on the community microphone, which is one tool in a Salesforce-powered dashboard created to collect, manage, share and visualize program data. The company offers the community microphone tool as part of a dashboard, or it can be purchased separately.

“Together, Health Confianza and Flourish are identifying best practices around the use of the voice-based data collection and AI analysis via the community microphone tool in public health settings. We are excited to see how this tool can be replicated in other communities and brought to scale for the purpose of centering community voice in programs aimed at improving health and wellness,” said Aaron Godoy, co-founder, CTO, CEO at Flourish.

Community Mic Drop

In April of last year, Health Confianza and its partners —South Central Area Health Education Center (AHEC), Southside Collaborative, WestCare Texas, and YWCA San Antonio —launched the first community microphone with two simple prompts in English and Spanish.

• What does health mean to you?
• What is currently affecting you and your family’s health?

From April through May, Health Confianza and its four partners gathered community input at health fairs, club meetings, bulletin boards, etc. These five organizations collected more than 160 responses from people across Bexar County.

Overall, here’s what the respondents said should be addressed to create a healthier community:

• Improved access to nutritious food and healthcare resources
• Community support, education and prevention
• Support to manage chronic health conditions such as diabetes and hypertension
• Safe neighborhoods; freedom from fear of gun violence
• Greater social connections and communal spaces for healthier living

Health Confianza’s team also created three infographics summarizing community responses from San Antonio’s Westside, Southside, Eastside, Central and Northside. The infographics cover three areas: major themes, barriers to health, and social/emotional needs and concerns.

“With this information, we and our partners are able to more rapidly respond to the needs and priorities of the communities we serve. We feel that our tailored responses will contribute to an increase in trust between our organizations and our community, resulting in sustained utilization of our information and services. We are excited to continue centering community voice in our programming via the Community Microphone while seeking additional tools for building and sustaining community trust.” Rosenfeld said.

See the infographics highlighting community voices below.

Major Themes Highlighted by Community

Barriers to Health Noted by Community

Social and Emotional Needs and Concerns from Community

 

San Antonio, TEXAS – In a new commentary, assistant professors Melanie Stone and Jason Rosenfeld of The University of Texas at San Antonio are spotlighting precision public health, a concept that leverages technology to more efficiently transform the health and well-being of entire communities.   

Originated over a decade ago, precision public health is defined as “a concept of using effective, fair, and reliable data and social enterprise to improve the health of all.” 

The commentary, titled “Putting Precision Public Health into Action,” was published in the January/February issue of the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice.   

“Through this commentary, we want to spur discussion around precision public health and draw attention to the innovative strategies and technologies available today to address a myriad of health care issues, including loneliness and chronic diseases,” said Melanie Stone, DrPH, MEd, co-director of Health Confianza, Assistant Professor of Family & Community Medicine and Director of Community Engaged Learning. 

Stone and Rosenfeld point to Health Confianza, the five-year-old grant-fund initiative they co-direct, as an example of precision public health. Health Confianza is a multilevel health literacy program designed to address health literacy at the organizational, professional, and individual level.  

“Health Confianza is leveraging data/AI tools, digital communications and strategic partnerships to measure, target and quickly respond to community’s needs with the goal of increasing the use of preventive health services, public trust in health systems and overall well-being,” said Jason Rosenfeld, DrPH, MPH, CHWI, co-director of Health Confianza, director of Global Health.  

The ability to practice precision public health has taken on a new relevancy as health insurance and care costs continue to rise.   

“With budget and workforce constraints, we need to prioritize the utilization of the tools and strategies that precision public health offers to address these ever-evolving health challenges,” Stone said.    

The full commentary, titled “Putting Precision Public Health into Action,” is available for viewing for free until February 2026: https://journals.lww.com/jphmp/fulltext/2026/01000/putting_precision_public_health_into_action.4.aspx 

 

 

 

By Dr. Melanie Stone, DrPH, MEd, co-director of Health Confianza, Assistant Professor of Family & Community Medicine and Director of Community Engaged Learning.

As we close out 2025 and step into a new year, many of us are reflecting, setting goals, and recommitting to our health and well-being. But a critical question remains: How do we ensure everyone in our community has a real opportunity to be healthy?

At Health Confianza, we believe the answer starts with health literacy—making sure people can access, understand, and use health information and services. Every day, our neighbors are flooded with information, yet too often left unsure how to act on it. We’re working to change that. 

In this issue, you’ll see how we’re reimagining health communication in creative and human-centered ways. Our Health Confianza ambassadors are gathering community input through conversation and the joyful act of coloring—creating space for authentic voices to be heard. At the same time, we’re exploring innovative tools like artificial intelligence, using a virtual “community microphone” that allows people to speak freely and have their insights instantly summarized. 

Together with partners like the YWCA, we’re launching maternal health clubs that support peer-to-peer learning throughout pregnancy and new motherhood. We collaborated with marketing experts to create a local preventive health campaign that makes staying healthy both easy and fun. 

Through our strong partnership with Southside Collaborative, we celebrated their first-ever health fair that drew more than 700 community members.

Additionally, we completed a Learning Collaborative with seven local organizations now applying organizational health literacy principles to improve how clients experience their services. And this fall, our ECHO telementoring series brought health professionals and community health workers together to strengthen plain-language communication—highlighted by Dr. Matt Dacso’s practical approach to discussing genetics. 

As Dr. Jason Rosenfeld shared in our first issue, this work is about leading and communicating with confianza—confidence grounded in trust, knowledge, and unity. As we move into the new year, we’re grateful to be part of this growing Confianza Collective and excited to continue innovating together to help individuals and families make informed decisions that support lifelong health. 

 

 

Tips from a physician for communicating health

San Antonio, Texas — Given the abundance of health information available online and through technology, patients and clients are asking complex questions about their health that are pushing health professionals and community health workers to sharpen their health communication skills.

Some common questions may include, “‘My father had a thyroid problem. I assume I’ll have one as well. Should I get tested? Or everyone in my family has had a bad reaction to vaccines. Will I have a bad reaction?,’” said Matt Dacso, MD, MSc, FACP, director of the Charles E. Cheever Jr. Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics and professor of medicine.

Today it’s not unusual for a health talk to touch upon genetics, environment, lifestyle, and testing, and how they all interact to influence health, he added.

As such, there is a growing need for health communication strategies to help professionals navigate this complex information environment, Dacso said. He tackled the topic in a Health Confianza ECHO presentation titled, “Genetics are Not Always Destiny – Communicating the Complex Relationship Between Nature and Nurture.”

“We have greatly expanded our knowledge about what genetics, what our DNA, does for our bodies and what it does for our risk (for disease),” Dacso said. “And we also are constantly learning more about how lifestyle, how environment, how socioeconomic conditions play with the DNA and affect our bodies in a way that actually can cause health conditions to integrate into our health and our next generations.”

Technology and its rapid evolution are also adding complexity.

“This influx of health information can be very hard for our patients, clients or members of the community who are just trying to figure out what to do for their health,” he said.

What this means for health providers/community health workers

Today, conversations around health require layered and thoughtful consideration of multiple factors: genetics (individual genes and inheritance), genomics (the interaction of multiple genes and environmental factors), as well as the role of social determinants of health, Dasco said.

“We have to figure out how to communicate with our community about how complex this is,” he said.

When weighing risks for certain diseases and illness and assessing the next steps, experts look at social determinants, such as stress.

“We know from adverse childhood events literature that there are potential limitations or delays in developmental milestones for youth that are living in poverty or in situations of lower socioeconomic status,” he said.

It’s also important to recognize that when a health professional is talking about what the environment is doing to an individual’s genes, they are discussing Epigenetics — the study of how environmental stressors (such as diet, stress and toxins) can turn on or off certain genes influencing development, health, and disease, he said.

“The point here is not that we need to be experts in genetics. It’s to show that there’s actual science behind what people say and what they feel,” Dacso added.

While some diseases are purely genetic, including sickle cell and Huntington’s disease, other health conditions illustrate varying degrees of genetic and environmental influence— complex conditions like diabetes, cancer, and autoimmune disorders.

Another consideration for health practitioners is that patients and clients are on the receiving end of a flood of health information from technology and AI platforms.

For instance, direct-to-consumer genetic testing has yielded unprecedented access to health information, which offers individuals empowerment but also raises concerns about interpretation, cost, and privacy.

Even with the availability of health information, health providers should keep in mind that the average health literacy level in the U.S. is low. A large majority of adults (around 88%) at some point struggle with tasks like understanding medication instructions or health insurance information.

How to communicate uncertainty and risk effectively

When having conversations with patients and clients, it’s good to point out that medicine is inherently uncertain, said Dacso, quoting William Osler: “Medicine is a science of uncertainty and an art of probability.”

“When you are transparent about what is known, unknown, and subject to change, you are able to build trust,” Dacso said. “The main message is that patients can understand uncertainty if it is explained honestly and clearly.”

People accept risks more readily when they understand the benefits and are part of a shared decision-making process.

“They want to make the best decisions for themselves or, when caring for others, for their loved ones. But the amount of information can feel overwhelming,” Dacso said.

Overall, Dacso said, “Have awareness, empathy, humility, transparency, and then empower the people who are around us.”

Watch Dacso’s video here and see tips and resources below.

Practical communication strategies from Dr. Dacso include:

Present information in multiple formats — (e.g., percentages and frequencies), avoiding framing bias, and using relatable denominators (e.g., “1 in 10” instead of “1 in 10,000”).

Remember, less is more — avoid overwhelming patients with technical details unless they ask. Emotional factors often distort risk perception, so empathy and reassurance are key.

Use Visual tools like the Swiss cheese model, which was popularly used to explain the COVID-19 pandemic, and simple risk charts to help make complex concepts understandable.

Plain language Definitions:
Source: Justplainclear.com

Genetics – The study of how parents pass certain genes to their children

DNA – A tiny substance that has instructions for making every part of you

mRNA vaccine is also known as: messenger RNA vaccine — A new type of vaccine to protect against infectious diseases where parts of your DNA (chemical makeup of cells) are taught how to create a protein

Social Determinants – Also known as: health disparities

Conditions that may influence a person’s risk for developing health problems and health outcomes. Social determinants of health include where a person: lives, works, learns and plays

Resources:

The de Beaumont Foundation

Personalized risk calculators to support informed decision-making
– American Heart Association: https://professional.heart.org/en/guidelines-and-statements/prevent-calculator

-NIH Breast Cancer Assessment Tool: https://bcrisktool.cancer.gov/