The Latest

Lost in translation: health literacy

September 20, 2010 | by Nancy Belusky

Understanding medical information can be tough, even if you’re considered well-educated. I have never forgotten the story of a young breast cancer survivor I once interviewed. A college graduate, she was diagnosed in her mid-twenties, and Tracy didn’t understand at first that she had cancer. A friend asked about her doctor’s appointment, and Tracy said she went to a clinic that had “o-n-c” in the name but she couldn’t pronounce it. The friend said, “Oncology—was the word oncology?” Tracy thought that was right, and the friend said, “Tracy. Oncology means cancer. You have cancer.” That was the first moment Tracy understood her diagnosis.

The oncologist was Tracy’s second appointment. Somehow this young woman went through two doctor appointments not knowing she had breast cancer. I’m sure her physicians thought she understood and comprehended what they told her. But she didn’t. And her story is not uncommon.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), nearly 9 out of 10 adults lack the skills needed to manage their health and prevent disease. Andrew Pleasant, an assistant professor at Rutgers University, said, “An estimated 88% of adults – almost all of us – do not have the health literacy skills to proficiently interact with the healthcare system.”¹

Overcoming this information gap has always been a dedicated effort at StoneArch Creative – to ensure that patients truly understand the information our clients provide in marketing communications materials. But it’s not always easy when you also have to navigate in a complex legal and regulatory environment. Making medical and health information understandable is critical to patient compliance, and now the federal government is on board, with a new program called the Health Literacy Action Plan. The plan contains seven goals to provide access to “accurate and actionable health information and usable health services.”

We’ve all heard stories about patients who became as well-versed as doctors in discussing their condition, reading clinical studies and assessing medical information. But these folks are in the minority. Even people with master’s degrees can have trouble understanding medical information written at a high school level. And in the changing healthcare environment, insurance companies and others are putting more responsibility on the patient to manage their healthcare. Put yourself in the patient’s mind. It’s hard to grasp that there is something wrong, and possibly life-changing, with your health. All it takes is simple and plain English, written at a fifth or sixth grade level, to help patients like Tracy clearly know about their condition and their treatment options. And it never hurts to take a family member or friend with you to an appointment, to help you hear and understand everything the doctor tells you.

Check out Laura Landro’s “Informed Patient” column about health literacy in the July 6 edition of the Wall Street Journal.

Also check out a recent posting on Minnpost.com (Sept. 20th), in Susan Perry’s blog about What Our Doctors Tell us and What We Hear Are Often Two Different Things.

¹ http://www.cdc.gov/healthmarketing/pdf/HealthLiteracy.pdf