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Plain Language: Improving How We Communicate

Explore the issue of limited health literacy, its impact on understanding health information, and practical solutions for clearer communication in healthcare. Understand the extent of the problem, identify at-risk populations, and learn how to improve health literacy through Plain Language strategies.

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Plain Language: Improving How We Communicate

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  1. Plain Language: Improving How We Communicate Joanne Locke, MAS University of Maryland March 10, 2009

  2. Limited Health Literacy: The Problem • There is a major mismatch between the health information people receive and what they understand. • Even people with strong literacy skills may have trouble obtaining, understanding and using health information. Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion Institute of Medicine, 2004

  3. How Big is the Problem? 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy measured Health Literacy of US Adults for the first time: • 77 million (34%) have Basic or Below Basic skills - can’t understand drug labels • Only 12% scored Proficient

  4. Three types of literacy measured by the NAAL Quantitative Prose Document

  5. Difficulty of selected health literacy tasks 0 Below Basic Basic Intermediate Proficient Circle the date of a medical appointment on a hospital appointment slip. Give 2 reasons a person should be tested for a specific disease, based on information in a clearly written pamphlet. Determine what time a person can take a prescription medication, based on information on the drug label that relates the timing of medication to eating. Calculate an employee’s share of health insurance costs for a year, using a table. 500 5

  6. Percentage of Adults in Each Literacy Level: 2003 Source: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute for Education Sciences

  7. Who is at risk? The problem of limited health literacy is greater among: • Older Adults • Low income populations • People with limited education • Minority populations • People with limited English proficiency

  8. What factors affect health literacy? • Communication skills of the public and health professionals • Knowledge of health-related topics • Culture • Demands of the situation/context 8

  9. What can we do? Send clear, easy to understand messages Use Plain Language!

  10. Improve the Usability of Health Information • Is the information appropriate for the users? • Is it easy to understand? • Can you find a way to test it even on a limited budget? 10

  11. Definitions

  12. Plain Language: The Solution? • Plain Language is a promising strategy for clearly communicating health information • Simply writing in plain language won’t solve all health communication problems, but it is an essential first step.

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