MedTalks with Kathrin

About MedTalks with Kathrin

MedTalks is a medical podcast exploring the human side of medicine, clinical research, and healthcare communication. Hosted by nurse and medical communicator Kathrin Kunze, each episode brings together patients, healthcare professionals, researchers, translators, and industry experts to discuss how medical language shapes understanding, decision-making, and patient care. Through open conversations, MedTalks aims to bridge gaps between stakeholders, improve health literacy, and highlight the voices that shape modern healthcare. Get to know me at www.kathrinkunze.com

Publisher

Kathrin Kunze

Category

health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

13 Mar 2026

Latest episode

2 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

31 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   2 Oct 2026

   Patient Communication in Clinical Trials: Where Patient-Centered Care Falls Short

   How can patient-centered communication support informed choices, patient-centered care, and patient engagement in clinical trials?In this MedTalk, recorded on September 30, 2026, I speak with medical translator Laura Rolfi about the gap between approved clinical trial documents and information patients can understand and use.Laura shares insights from her qualitative research with clinical research professionals across Argentina, Peru, the United States, Mexico, and Spain. Together with participants from translation, patient advocacy, and research, we explore what happens when patient communication prioritizes regulatory content while overlooking the people who need to read it.Our discussion covers:• Informed consent forms: helping patients understand what participation involves and make an informed choice.• The relationship between communication, patient recruitment, clinical trials, and retention.• Misunderstood instructions, repeated visits, rescheduled procedures, and the practical costs of unclear information.• The “communication footprint”: how problems in source documents travel through reviews, translations, and local adaptations.• Why translators struggle to improve approved templates and legacy translations.• Patient engagement in clinical trials: involving patients and care partners early in document and protocol development.• Cultural assumptions, language differences, and the limits of a one-size-fits-all approach.• Anxiety, exhaustion, and information overload—and why layout, white space, bullet points, and appropriate visuals matter.• Assent forms for children and teenagers: creating materials that meet their needs.• Multidisciplinary collaboration and the discussion around ICH E6(R3).• Moving from recommendations to practical proposals the industry can implement.Clinical trial patient engagement starts before recruitment. It includes listening to patients, understanding their circumstances, and creating information that helps them ask questions and decide whether participation is right for them.This conversation also highlights the contribution medical translators can make when their expertise is included early in the process.Mark Gibson of Gibson Research Consultancy contributes to this work through the TangoMed playlist, which he creates to explore Laura Rolfi’s research findings and the wider challenges of patient communication in clinical trials. Bringing together information design and the patient voice, Mark helps examine the assumptions behind patient-facing materials and how they translate across cultural contexts. His involvement supports our shared aim: turning these conversations into practical improvements that help patients understand information and make informed choices.📩 REQUEST LAURA’S REPORT OR CONNECTTo request Laura’s Clear Health Communication Risk Report, share feedback, or discuss collaboration:lrolfi@sharplinels.com🔗 RESOURCES DISCUSSEDOmbretta Metelli’s LinkedIn post on assent forms for children:https://lnkd.in/p/e2UWKh6TTangomed playlist — “An Introduction”:https://youtu.be/8IllggbyNTc?si=579QOzz4ijGOy6gr🌍 ABOUT MEDTALKS WITH KATHRINMedTalks brings patients, care partners, healthcare professionals, medical linguists, researchers, and industry stakeholders into conversation about making medical language accessible for ALL.Hosted by Kathrin Kunze, nurse turned medical communicator, translator, and author.Find out more:https://www.kathrinkunze.com💬 JOIN THE CONVERSATIONWhere do you see the biggest barriers to clear patient communication? What would help patients, translators, advocates, and clinical research teams work together earlier?Share your perspective in the comments, subscribe for future MedTalks, and share this discussion with someone who works with patient-facing clinical trial materials.#PatientCommunication #PatientCenteredCare #ClinicalTrials #PatientEngagement #MedicalTranslation

2. 

   24 Jun 2026

   Living with Sickle Cell Disease: Patient Advocacy, Pain, and the Need to Be Heard

   In this MedTalk, Kathrin Kunze speaks with Miriam Santos Freire about living with sickle cell disease, patient advocacy, clinical trials, and the importance of truly listening to patients. Through her personal journey with HbSS sickle cell disease, Miriam shares what it means to live with an invisible condition, navigate healthcare systems, and turn lived experience into advocacy and change. Miriam is a translator, linguist, language quality specialist, and patient advocate based in Cambridge, UK. She was born in Angola, lived in Portugal, and has been involved in patient advocacy for more than 10 years. In this conversation, Miriam explains what sickle cell disease is: an inherited, lifelong genetic blood condition that affects red blood cells and can cause severe pain, anaemia, jaundice, organ complications, strokes, and unpredictable crises. She also shares her own journey, from being diagnosed at the age of three to learning how to manage energy, medication, travel, education, work, and daily life with a chronic and often invisible condition. We talk about: ❤️ what sickle cell disease means in everyday life 🩸 pain crises, fatigue, anaemia, and invisible symptoms 🌍 sickle cell disease across different countries and communities 🏥 navigating healthcare systems in the UK and Portugal 🧾 why patients may need to carry medical letters and emergency care plans 🤝 patient advocacy and community education 🧪 clinical trials, trust, and access to research 🗣️ why healthcare professionals need to listen to patient expertise 📚 how medical translation, linguistic validation, and patient-facing communication can support better care A key message from this episode is simple but powerful: Patients are experts in their own lives. When patients explain what they need, how their body reacts, or what has worked for them before, this is not arrogance. It is survival, self-advocacy, and essential medical information. This MedTalk is for healthcare professionals, medical translators, clinical trial professionals, patient advocates, researchers, and anyone who wants to understand sickle cell disease beyond the textbook definition. Thank you, Miriam, for sharing your story, your expertise, and your advocacy work with such clarity and honesty. 🔔 Subscribe to MedTalks with Kathrin for more conversations on medical communication, patient advocacy, clinical trials, translation, and making healthcare language accessible for all. #SickleCellDisease #HbSS #PatientAdvocacy #MedTalks #HealthCommunication #MedicalCommunication #ClinicalTrials #PatientVoice #RareDisease #MedicalTranslation #LinguisticValidation #eCOA #PatientCentredCare #HealthLiteracy #Hematology #SickleCellAwareness

3. 

   17 Jun 2026

   Can Medical Information Be Understood Without Words? | The Ibuproject & Tuqtuli Explained

   What if a patient could understand essential medicine instructions without speaking the local language? In this second MedTalk with communication designer and Tuqtuli founder Juli Gudehus, we move from theory to practice and explore a fascinating real-world example: The Ibuproject. The Ibuproject is an international, interdisciplinary initiative that aims to translate information from an ibuprofen patient information leaflet into visual signs and pictograms. The goal is not to create another language, but to develop a communication principle that allows people to understand important health information regardless of their native language. Together, we discuss: 💊 How an ibuprofen package leaflet is being transformed into visual communication 🌍 Why language barriers remain a major challenge in healthcare worldwide 🖍️ How a shared visual vocabulary can support understanding across cultures 🧠 Why everyone can contribute—even if they believe they "can't draw" 🏥 Potential applications for patients, healthcare professionals, refugees, and people affected by stroke or communication difficulties 🤖 The future role of AI in testing and developing visual communication systems 🎨 Upcoming exhibitions and the growing international Tuqtuli community The project currently brings together participants from nine countries, six disciplines, and multiple generations, all working towards one ambitious goal: making communication possible when no common language exists. If you work in healthcare, patient communication, clinical research, health literacy, translation, linguistics, design, or accessibility, this conversation will give you plenty to think about. 🔗 Learn more about Tuqtuli: Website: https://tuqtuli.com (https://tuqtuli.com) The Ibuproject: https://tuqtuli.com/the-ibuproject (https://tuqtuli.com/the-ibuproject) 📱 Follow Tuqtuli: Instagram: @tuqtuli LinkedIn: Tuqtuli Facebook: Tuqtuli Mastodon: @tuqtuli 💬 What information from a medicine leaflet do you think would be most difficult to communicate using only signs? #MedTalks #Tuqtuli #Ibuproject #HealthCommunication #MedicalCommunication #HealthLiteracy #PatientCommunication #VisualCommunication #HealthcareInnovation #PatientSafety #GlobalHealth #InterculturalCommunication #PlainLanguage #Accessibility #HealthcareDesign #ClinicalTrials #PatientCentredCare

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Guest appearances

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Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.