Health Literacy/Plain Language Resources
Welcome
Health literacy is a major challenge to all health professions and health organizations. Only 12% of American adults have proficient health literacy skills - the ability to read, write, compute, understand, and use health information.(1) Seniors, the highest users of health services, have the lowest health literacy skills.
By age 75, 70% have below basic or basic health literacy and just 1% have proficient skills.
Plain language is the first best solution. Major national health policy groups, including the Institute of Medicine, National Safety Patient Council, and the Joint Commission urge health organizations to use plain language in patient/consumer communication. Plain language requires using evidence-based standards for patient teaching, as well as writing and designing information for print, web, or media.
Health Literacy & Plain Language: Skills for Clear Health Communication Online Course
The UNE-Maine GEC online health literacy course helps build knowledge and skills. The 3 course modules will help you learn:
- More about both the problem and the solution
- What plain language looks like so you’ll know it when you see it
- About ‘grade levels’ of print materials and how to compute one
- To register for this course at no cost, contact Marilyn Amoroso for a user name and password. Contact her at: 207-221-4460 or email: mamoroso@une.edu
Use these additional resources as well.
- Online course sponsored by the federal government: Unified Health Communication: Addressing Health Literacy, Cultural Competency, and Limited English Proficiency (LEP).Find it here: www.Train.org. After you register, find the course fast using this number: 1010510.
- Federal government websites: www.PlainLanguage.gov and www.health.gov/communication
- Website of the international plain language association: www.plainlanguagenetwork.org
Website of the American College of Physicians Foundation resources: http://www.acpfoundation.org/hl/conferences.htm - Kutner M, Greenberg E, Jin Y, Paulsen C. The Health Literacy of America’s Adults: Results From the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NCES2006-483). U.S. Department of Education. Washington DC: National Center for Education Statistics, 2006. Access: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2006/2006483.pdf