Elizabeth A. H. WilsonElizabeth A. H. Wilson, PhD, is a Research Assistant Professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She received her doctorate in the field of psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2009 in the division of Visual Cognition and Human Performance. She received a BA in psychology and a BS in biology from the University of Iowa (2004) and an MA in psychology from the University of Illinois (2007).
Dr. Wilson’s background on the topic of memory and aging among cognitively healthy older adults within the context of healthcare informs her current research focus on the cognitive learning principles underlying successful learning of health related information by patients of varying literacy levels. Specifically, her research interests include the cognitive factors surrounding patients’ encoding and retention of content and adherence to self care regimens, the development of interventions to promote understanding and recall of health information across different patient populations, and issues surrounding the impact of health literacy on successful interactions with new information. She is also interested in the effectiveness of different types of media and technologies to promote knowledge transfer to patients. Dr. Wilson works with the Health Literacy and Learning Program as a co-investigator on various projects relating to health literacy, cognition, and the management of chronic conditions.
Highlighted Articles
Wilson, E. A. H. & Park, D. C. (2008). A case for clarity in the writing of health statements. Patient Education and Counseling, 72, 330-335.
Wilson, E. A. H. & Wolf, M. S. (2009). Working memory and the design of health materials: A cognitive factors perspective. Patient Education and Counseling, 74, 318-322.
Sobel, R. M., Paasche-Orlow, M. K., Waite, K. R., Rittner, S. S., Wilson, E. A. H., & Wolf, M. S. (2009). Asthma 1-2-3: A low literacy multimedia tool to educate African American adults about asthma. The Journal of Community Health, 34, 321-327.
Wolf, M. S., Wilson, E. A. H., Rapp, D. N., Waite, K. R., Bocchini, M. V., Davis, T. C., & Rudd, R. E. (2009). Literacy and Learning in Healthcare. Pediatrics, 124, S275-S281
Ross, E., Wilson, E. A. H., Waite, K. R., Curtis, L. M., Bojarski, E., Sobel, R., O’Conor, R., Federman, A., & Wolf, M. S. (under review). Cognitive ability and diabetes control among medically underserved patients. Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Wilson, E. A. H., Wolf, M. S., Curtis, L. M., Clayman, M. L., Cameron, K. A., & Makoul, G. (under review). Literacy, cognitive ability, and the retention of health-related information about colorectal cancer screening. Journal of Health Communication, Invited submission for special issue on Health Literacy.
Wilson, E. A. H., Park, D. C., Curtis, L. M., Cameron, K., Clayman, M. L., Makoul, G., & Wolf, M. S. (under review). Media and memory: the impact of presentation style on middle aged and older adults’ recall of health information. Patient Education and Counseling, Invited submission for special issue on proceedings of the International Conference on Communication in Healthcare, 2009.
