Patient Education and Health Literacy

What is health literacy?

Health literacy refers to how well a person can get the health information and services that they need, and how well they understand them. It is also about using them to make good health decisions. It involves differences that people have in areas such as:

• Access to information that they can understand
• Skills, such as finding that information, communicating with health care providers, living a healthy lifestyle, and managing a disease
• Knowledge of medical words, and of how their health care system works
• Abilities, such as physical or mental limitations
• Personal factors, such as age, education, language abilities, and culture

More than 90 million adults in the United States have low health literacy. It affects their ability to make health decisions. This can harm their health. They may have trouble managing chronic diseases, and leading a healthy lifestyle. They may go to the hospital more often, and have poorer health overall.

Source: National Institutes of Health (NIH)

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Plain language (also called plain writing or plain English) is communication your audience can understand the first time they read or hear it.

The Plain Writing Act of 2010 defines plain language as:

Writing that is clear, concise, well-organized, and follows other best practices appropriate to the subject or field and intended audience.

Language that is plain to one set of readers may not be plain to others. Written material is in plain language if your audience can:

• Find what they need
• Understand what they find
• Use what they find to meet their needs

There are many techniques that can help you achieve this goal. Among the most common are:

• Logical organization with the reader in mind
• Using "You" pronouns to speak directly to your reader
• Active voice
• Short sentences
• Common, everyday words
• Easy-to-read design features

Source: Plain Language Action and Information Network (PLAIN)