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October is Health Literacy Month, a time for Crozer-Keystone Health System physicians and employees to reevaluate what they can do to help patients more effectively read, understand and use medical instructions and information.
Research has shown that people who have difficulty understanding basic health information are more likely to have poor health, higher rates of hospitalization and greater use of emergency services. Crozer-Keystone is committed to creating awareness about health literacy among its employees, and the health system continues to examine methods for making sure that all patients are able to understand verbal and written information they receive at CKHS hospitals.
“Crozer-Keystone subscribes to the principles of the Ask Me 3 initiative created by the Partnership for Clear Health Communication. We want our patients to understand the answers to three questions: ‘What is my main problem?’, ‘What do I need to do?’ and ‘Why is it important for me to do this?’ We have introduced efforts to help employees prepare to answer these questions, including posters, a brochure, e-mail messages and more,” says Nancy Bucher, vice president of Patient Services at Crozer-Chester Medical Center and chief nursing officer for Crozer-Keystone Health System. Bucher also chairs the health system’s Health Literacy Task Force, which consists of employees from departments throughout the health system as well as a representative from the Delaware County Literacy Council.
One way health care providers can help patients understand important health information is to use easy-to-understand language. Many people, even those who are highly literate, have trouble understanding words used in health care. Some health care terms may be unfamiliar to patients, or familiar words may be used in a context that is different than what they are accustomed to.
Here is a list of some common terms that could cause patient confusion, as well as alternatives that may be easier to understand. Providers are encouraged to use these alternatives when speaking with patients.
Problem Word Consider Using
Abdominal pain Stomach pain
Adverse Bad
Advisable Wise, makes sense
Alleviate your Make you feel better
symptoms
Borderline On the edge of, between
Challenges Problems
Chronic Does not end, constant
Cognitive Learning; thinking
Collaborate Work together
Considerable Quite a bit of; a lot of
Desirable Wanted, needed, best, looked for
Diagnosis Cause of your illness
Discretion Good judgment, keep
private
Dosage How much medicine you
should take
Drowsiness Very sleepy
Gauge Measure
Fluid level How much water your
body has
Generic Product sold without a
brand name
Hazardous Not safe, dangerous
High-intensity Use example, such as
exercise running
Hyperarousal Very tense, easy to startle
Imbalance Out of balance
Immediate At once, right away
Infrequent Not often, rare, few and
far between
Inhibitor Drug that stops something
that is bad for you
Initial At first
Insomnia Can’t sleep
Interaction How things work together
Interfere Get in the way of
Jaundice Yellowing of the skin or
the whites of the eyes
Lesion Wound, sore
Membrane Thin covering (over a
part of the body)
Moderately Not too much
Nasal congestion Stuffy nose
Nausea Upset stomach
Non-prescription Over-the-counter
Oral By mouth
Perform Do
Persistent Constant, lasting
Premenstrual Before your period
Progressive Gets worse (or better)
Prolonged Lasts a long time
Prosthesis Replacement for a
body part
Reaction Result, end result,
response
Refrain Stop, stay away from
Regularly Every month, every
day, etc.
Relieve Lessen, help, ease
Severe Terrible, serious, dangerous
Side effect Something you feel that was caused by a medicine
you took
Significant Very good, a lot of
Tailored Made just for you
Temporary For a short time
Trauma, traumatic Shock, distress, ordeal
Tremor Shaking
Triad Group of three
Vertigo Dizziness
Visible Can be seen
For more information about health literacy, visit the website of the Partnership for Clear Health Communication at www.askme3.org, or the Crozer-Keystone website at www.crozer.org. |
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Health Literacy: Additional Advice
In addition to using easy-to-understand language, here are a few other techniques that can help increase patients’ comfort level as well as increase compliance with health care instructions:
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Show that you are an active listener by nodding or otherwise demonstrating encouragement. Also, show patience in your body language – do not sign, tap your finger, or otherwise show that you wish the speaker would hurry up.
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Sit down (instead of standing) to achieve eye level with your patient.
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Use visual models, when possible, to illustrate a procedure or condition.
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Ask patients to “teach back” the care instructions you give to them. Clarify unclear information |
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