Monthly Archives: July 2010

Another installment of the Symphony of Science video series – “The Poetry of Reality”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 9 out of 10 adults struggle to follow routine medical advice — and, according to Laura Landro in her piece in the Wall Street Journal, it’s largely to do with the fact that this advice is “often incomprehensible to average people.”

“Taking Medical Jargon Out of Doctor Visits”

One study estimates that the “costs to the health-care system of low health literacy, such as patients not taking their medications or seeking appropriate treatment, amount to as much as $238 billion a year.”

Hard to understand medical language, it seems, may actually be the cause of poor health outcomes and billions of dollars in wasteful spending.  As such, it is an obvious target for the improvement of the health care system in general.  The Health Literacy Action Plan is a federal program which aims to encourage medical communicators, whether plans or providers, to simplify their language for general consumption.

Her article refers to certain words such as “petechiae,” meaning skin rash, or “hyperlipidemia,” meaning high level of fats in the blood, which suggest the way in which one might restate medical terms in plain English (in this case) to more effectively describe an individual’s medical state.

Taking this into consideration, it seems a helpful exercise when writing about healthcare for the lay audience, perhaps the mainstream media.  For even the most sophisticated journalist, an explanation in plain English will limit the number of misunderstandings that find their way into articles.  If you have a background in the material, complex verbiage may actually make sense; but those who are hearing words for the first time may struggle. The goal, then, is to simplify.  You will of course have those who just miss the information and are happy to correct a mistake, but clear explanations will certainly limit the number of times this happens.

Any good story can be told simply and elegantly — and everyone should be able to understand it.

“When it comes to health, we’re not living in the Age of Too Much Information so much as the Age of Not Quite Enough.  Medical science has generated vast amounts of data, and laypeople have more access to them than ever before, but look closely at that information, and it starts to seem disturbingly incomplete.”

In the June 28 & July 5 double issue of Newsweek, the title is simple: “The Science of Healthy Living.”  In Mary Carmichael’s article, ‘Healthy at Any Age’ (from which the quote above comes), she describes the mass of medical information we do have, and the limits of that information: poorly designed trials, disagreement among expert panels on guidelines and even the complexity of newly acquired genetic information.

She suggests using the basic mantra of “moderation.”  Common sense can answer a number of questions, but they can be further answered by a balanced approach of awareness of your health, openness in discussing it with doctors and friends and a thoughtful approach to consuming health information.

Using ‘moderation’ as a model for health information consumption, one can formulate a PR program that takes advantage of this simplicity.

1. Awareness

As people become more aware of their bodies and their health statistics (whether cholesterol, lipids, blood glucose or weight), frame your message within that context.  Ask the question, what does our message mean to them?  What numbers can help them understand where they fit?

2. Openness

People are beginning to discuss private health matters more openly, whether with friends, family members or physicians.  This may be through social media or just a conversation; in a PR program, it helps to give people the tools to discuss their health intelligently.  What might their friends ask them?  What would a doctor want to know?  Your message should attempt to capture language that speaks to both indirect audiences.

3.  Thoughtfulness

We are all health information consumers, and, though not always specialists in the field, we do know more than generations before us.  Credibility is key to engaging a sophisticated audience of health consumers.  Explain the data, tell the truth and provide your audience with information that speaks to their concerns and puts the message into context.

With these tactics, one can satisfy your audience with the most appropriate knowledge for achieving the most holistic understanding of their health. A healthful message is the first step in healthy interpretation.