6 ways to demystify your messaging for patients
Health care marketers and other communicators must offer easily digestible language to deliver much-needed services to consumers.
By Jake Miller | Posted: September 24, 2018
Clear communication is crucial in health care.
Still, many marketers often use complex words that only doctors and
nurses—who have special education and training—would understand. Doing so
impedes communication with patients and consumers at large.
When someone can’t comprehend health care language, they probably won’t use
medicines correctly or get the care they need for their symptoms or
illnesses.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services,
only 12 percent of U.S. adults have proficient health literacy
. Health care terms can be daunting for anyone, regardless of their reading
level.
[RELATED: Craft engaging stories that inspire audiences, build brand
loyalty and more.]
Here are six tips and tricks to help you simplify and clarify your health
care communications:
-
Everyday Words for Public Health Communication.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a great document
that provides common language to replace health jargon, ranging from
“abstinence” to “virus.” It’s not just health-specific terms that
increase reading difficulty. Words like “utilize” and “feasible” also
are included.
-
Use readability tools
. A number of scoring methods, including the Flesch-Kincaid Readability
Test, can let you know whether your copy reads at the recommended
eighth-grade level. If you use the Yoast SEO tool on your blog or
website, the Flesch-Kincaid test is available for each post you write.
Readable.io
combines several scoring systems and highlights longer sentences, adverb
use and big words in your copy. Unfortunately, the free version lets you
score only a couple of pieces of content before requesting that you sign up
for the premium version.
Another free option is
Word’s readability statistics
.
-
Don’t be afraid to elaborate.
Often, it takes an extra word or two to clarify a medical term. Always
be efficient with language, but don’t sacrifice clarity.
-
Give it the kid test.
This is the least scientific method, but perhaps the most reliable
test. Have your kids read it and explain what they’ve read. Did they
pause? Did they stumble on any words? If so, rewrite.
-
Run a social media test.
A great way to test on social media is to use
dark Facebook
posts. Such tests have two benefits: You’ll get to see how people are
responding to simple language versus health care jargon, and it gives
you quantitative evidence to make a case for simple language.
-
Use research to make your case.
Research shows that when people don’t understand basic health terms it
can affect their well-being.
“America’s Health Literacy: Why We Need Accessible Health
Information”
is a good place to start to gather information that will improve your
chances of winning the phrasing battle if a doctor or medical
professional has final content approval. This
in-depth look at health literacy
from Harvard can also help make your case.
Ultimately, clear language helps patients to better understand what your
health care system does and how they benefit from it.
From a public health standpoint, that’s significant. From a competitive
standpoint, it’s essential. Whoever communicates best will win new patients
and prompt established patients to seek care they need.
A version of this article is on the Lindsay, Stone & Briggs Blog.