Education

• ​M.Ed., Boston University School of Education
• M.A., Muhlenberg College

Research interests

Research synopsis

Integrating health literacy and cultural competency into public health workforce development training to eliminate health disparities.
Creating audience-centered health communication using plain language principles for public health and clinical practice.
Working with hospitals and health centers to implement the 10 attributes of a health literate organization to improve healthcare

Publications

Kurtz-Rossi S, Rikard RV, and McKinney J. Learning from the Field and Its Listserv: Issues that Concern Health Literacy Practitioners. Information Services & Use. 2017;37: 291-234.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317635824_Learning_from_the_field_and_its_listserv_Issues_that_concern_health_literacy_practitioners

Kurtz-Rossi S, & Logan R. Why We Need a Health Literacy Association, Institute of Medicine (IOM) Health Literacy Roundtable, February 2015 http://www.iom.edu/Global/Perspectives/2015/Health-Literacy-Association.aspx

Abrams MA, Kurtz-Rossi S, Riffenburgh A, Savage B. Building Health Literate Organizations: A Guidebook to Achieving Organizational Change. Des Moines, IA: UnityPoint Health; 2014.http://www.unitypoint.org/filesimages/literacy/health%20literacy%20guidebook.pdf

Kurtz-Rossi S, Valier C, and Smith G. Staying Healthy for Beginners: An English Learner’s Guide to Health Care and Healthy Living. Orlando, FL: Florida Literacy Coalition; 2014.https://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/StayingHealthyTeacherGuide2014.pdf

Kurtz-Rossi S, Duguay P. Health information literacy outreach: Improving health literacy and access to reliable health information in rural Oxford County Maine. JCHI. 2010;14:325-340.http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15397734.2010.524089