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Plain Language: Improving How We Communicate

Plain Language: Improving How We Communicate. Joanne Locke, MAS University of Maryland March 10, 2009. Limited Health Literacy: The Problem. There is a major mismatch between the health information people receive and what they understand.

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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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