Plain Language Saves Lives

I am not an expert in health literacy nor in the use on plain language in the health field, but I can't ignore the issue any more than you can.

I see news reports regularly about theses issues. And I am thankful that others are researching this field and gaining practical experience producing plain language health information.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I saw a report about people losing their reading skills as they age.

This week we get the results of a 10 year study on literacy and health that tells us that low literacy contributes to higher mortality rates among the elderly! See it at Northwestern. Here is the gist:

"The results show a dramatic need for health care providers to find better ways to educate low literacy patients about their health.

"We need to use plain language," [Dr. David] Baker said. "We're not talking about dumbing down material. We're talking about using simple language the average person would understand." He'd like to vanquish medical jargon from doctor's language and educational health materials. One example is saying "sugar" instead of "glucose" when discussing diabetes.

Many concepts also are easier to understand through graphics and multimedia than words. "If one picture is worth a thousand words, maybe one movie is worth 10 pictures," Baker said. "So, if you're going to explain to somebody with a condition called heart failure that their heart is not pumping hard enough, a moving image may show this much more clearly than words or a still image.”

Often, low literacy patients need multiple repetitions to fully understand information.

"We need to learn to repeat the material or instructions until someone is able to repeat it back to you in his own words or answer questions about the material,” Baker said.

Baker and colleagues are currently designing simpler health education materials for patients about colorectal cancer, asthma and diabetes. They are working directly with patients to find the best words and methods to explain health information.

Much more work is needed, Baker said. "In asthma and diabetes, now we actually know what words to use to be understood. But there are hundreds of other topics we haven't addressed. In those, I think we're still doing a poor job."

Changes will benefit all patients, particularly those in late middle age and older. Mental functions begin to decline in the 30's and reading comprehension is much lower among the elderly. As our population ages, Baker said, the problem of inadequate health literacy and the need to improve methods of health education and communication are certain to increase."