Public-health materials
Copyediting and proofreading
Ensure clarity, readability and accuracy in your public-health materials and communications.
​
What it involves
-
Spelling and grammar: Checking for and correcting spelling, grammar and punctuation errors.
-
Style consistency: Ensuring consistency in writing style, formatting and language usage throughout the document. This can involve following a specified style guide (e.g. American Medical Association (AMA) Manual of Style, NICE Style Guide, Oxford Style Manual, Chicago Manual of Style) or adhering to your in-house style rules.
-
Clarity and readability: Rephrasing sentences and paragraphs to enhance clarity and readability for the intended audience, which may include healthcare professionals, researchers or the general public.
-
Word choice: Ensuring appropriate word usage and avoiding ambiguous or incorrect terms.
-
Consistency in terminology: Ensuring that terminology is consistently spelt and styled throughout the document.
-
Formatting and layout: Checking the overall formatting of the document, including headings, subheadings, lists and other elements to ensure visual consistency.
-
Citations and references: Reviewing and formatting citations and references according to the specified citation style.
-
Cross-references: Checking and validating cross-references to figures, tables, sections or other parts of the document.
-
Consistency in language and tone: Maintaining a consistent tone and voice throughout the document, depending on the intended audience and purpose.
-
Querying obvious factual inaccuracies and flagging potential legal issues (but does not include research for fact checking or solving defamatory or other legal issues, both of which lie with the writer).
-
Compliance with guidelines: Checking whether the document complies with specific publication guidelines.
​
Example materials
-
Public-health campaigns to raise awareness about specific health issues such as anti-smoking campaigns, mental-health campaigns, vaccination campaigns and campaigns promoting healthy lifestyles.
-
Health-education materials to educate the public on various health topics such as nutrition, sexual health, mental health and the prevention of specific diseases.
-
Social-media campaigns to share health information, updates and advice through platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
-
Press releases and newsletters to provide updates on health emergencies, outbreaks, important health-related announcements, the latest research, policies and guidelines.
-
Health-education workshops to teach individuals and communities about specific health issues and strategies for prevention.
​
​
Fact checking
Ideal for organisations who need to ensure accuracy in their public-health messaging.
​
Example projects
-
Checking materials against literature to verify the accuracy of the health information being presented.
-
Cross-referencing information presented across several types of materials to ensure consistency and accuracy.
-
Reviewing visual content such as infographics or illustrations to ensure they accurately represent the medical information presented in the text.
​
Why work with me?
My public-health clients choose to work with me when their in-house editors are already booked out or on annual leave. Here's why they choose me:
Experience
I've got 25+ years of experience
Skilled
I've worked both in-house and freelance in medical education
Subject knowledge
I have specialised in medical subjects since 2009
Speed
Fast turnaround service – usually within 1–2 weeks
Cost savings
Remove the need to hire permanent employees
Having worked with Jo for a number of years, I can vouch for her skills with language and communication in the pharmaceutical and medical arenas. Jo edits very clearly with the end-user in mind and can get to the point in a succinct and concise way. A great addition to a team, who can be relied on to deliver quality.