Barbara is a trainer, counselor, educator and researcher. She began her professional career working in the mental health field in the mid 1990’s with individuals, groups, and families. Her background further allowed her to work for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of the Public Health Prevention Service, working both in infectious and chronic diseases. She later worked in the Division of Chronic Diseases for the state of Rhode Island, spearheading several health communication initiatives, and served as the Coordinator of the Chronic Care Collaborative. She is a recipient of Marie Curie Reintegration Grant (2006-2009) and Founder of the first Toastmasters Club in Greece (HAU Athens Toastmasters) aimed at building public speaking and leadership skills among its members. She has trained several groups on topics such as smoking and alcohol use, bullying prevention, healthy relationships, health communication, volunteerism, presenting oneself successfully to the public, being effective, among others.
 

She’s currently completing a Ph.D. in Language and Communication, holds two Masters degrees (Public Health, Social Work), and an undergraduate Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Her community blog is: healthliteracyweb.com. 
 

Research Interests:  Health literacy, diversity, volunteerism, chronic and infectious diseases, environmental psychology, leadership and communication.

 

Sorensen K., Levin-Zamir, D., Kondilis, B. & Okran, O. (2021). Rebranding social distancing to physical distancing: calling for a change in the health promotion vocabulary to enhance clear communication during a pandemic, Global Health Promotion Journal.

Kondilis, B. (2019). A Life-span Perspective on Health Literacy: Aging and End-of-Life Issues. In: Okan, O., Bauer, U., Levin-Zamir, D., Pinheiro, P., Sørensen, K. (Εds.) International Handbook of Health Literacy. Research, Practice and Policy Across the Lifespan. Bristol: The Policy Press, University of Bristol, U.K.

Zarcadoolas. C., Kondilis, B. (2018). Health Literacy in Non-Communicable Diseases: Contexts and Cases. In Optimizing Health Literacy for Improved Clinical Practice. (Eds.) Papalois, Vassilios E. & Theodosopoulou, Maria.  Hershey PA: IGI Global.

Sorensen, K, et al. (2015). Health Literacy in Europe: Comparative Results of the European Health Literacy Survey (HLS-EU), European J of Public Health, December 25(6): 1053-8. DOI:10.1093/eurpub/ckv043 Epub Apr 5

Sorensen K, Van den Broucke S, Pelikan JM, Fullam J, Doyle G, Slonska Z, Kondilis B, Stoffels V, Osborne R, Brand H. (2013).  Measuring health literacy in populations: Illuminating the design and the development process of the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q), BMC Public Health, 13(1), 1-22.

Goel G, Nandan S, Rishi M, Liasides J, & Kondilis B. (2011). India, Female Immigrant Entrepreneurship in Utta Pradesh. In D. Halkias,  P. Thurman, N. Harkiolakis, S.M. Caracatsanis (Eds.). Female Immigrant Entrepreneurs: The Economic and Social Impact of a Global Phenomenon (pp. 11-24). London: Gower Publishing Ltd., Gower House, Aldershot, Hampshire, GU11 3HR, England. ISBN 978-0-566-08913-8.

Kondilis B, Akrivos P, Sardi T, Soteriades E, Falagas M. (2010). Readability levels of health pamphlets distributed in Athens hospitals & health centers. Public Health, 124(10):547-52.