Return-Path: <nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id h25MDcP26889; Wed, 5 Mar 2003 17:13:38 -0500 (EST) Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2003 17:13:38 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <410-22003335222025593@earthlink.net> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Debbie Yoho" <dwyoho@earthlink.net> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-HEALTH:3927] FW: health literacy issue X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII X-Mailer: EarthLink MailBox 2003.1.12.0 (Windows) Status: O Content-Length: 4486 Lines: 131 Forwarded to the list at the request of the sender. A good health literacy object lesson. Deborah W. Yoho Co-moderator, NIFL-Health Listserv President, SC Adult Literacy Educators Executive Director, Greater Columbia Literacy Council 2728 Devine Street, Columbia, SC 29205 803-765-2555 Fax 803-779-8417 dwyoho@earthlink.net > [Original Message] > From: Ellen Loebl <eloebl@visionliteracy.org> > To: <dwyoho@earthlink.net> > Date: 3/3/2003 12:58:55 PM > Subject: health literacy issue > > Debbie: This may be appropriate to post on the NIFL Health discussion list. > I found it in today's San Jose Mercury News. I have pasted it below. > > Posted on Mon, Mar. 03, 2003 > > Study faults child car seat instructions > By LINDSEY TANNER > Associated Press > > CHICAGO - Instructions for installing child safety seats in cars are written > in language too difficult for many adults to understand, researchers say. > > Such manuals are written at a tenth-grade reading level on average, > according to a new study, while data suggest that nearly a quarter of U.S. > adults read at or below a fifth-grade level, and at least 25 percent read at > about an eighth-grade level. > > The findings are cause for concern because motor vehicle collisions are a > leading cause of death and injury for infants and children. About 80 percent > of car safety seats are improperly installed or misused, the study said, > citing previous research. > > The study, appearing Monday in the March issue of Pediatrics, was conducted > by Dr. Mark Wegner and Deborah Girasek at the Uniformed Services University > of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md. > > The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, which represents car-seat > makers, disputed the findings. > > But Joe Colella of the National Safe Kids Campaign, an advocacy group that > works with manufacturers on child safety issues, said most are aware of the > problem. > > For liability reasons, lawyers usually are involved in writing installation > instructions, and legal jargon might make instructions sound confusing, > Colella said. > > Car-seat makers "have made us aware that they're going to rewrite most of > their instructions" to make them more readable, he said. > > Many city police and fire departments offer help in installing child seats. > > Frank Grgas, a firefighter in Gurnee, Ill., said his department gets dozens > of calls a month from parents needing help with car seats. > > "Ninety percent of them in Illinois are installed incorrectly," he said. > > Grgas said he doesn't know if that's because the seats are hard to install, > the instructions are difficult or parents just aren't reading them. "I've > read through quite a few of them, and some of them can be confusing," he > said. > > Girasek said manufacturers could help by writing installation instructions > at a fifth-grade level, which literacy experts say is optimal for > understanding health-related information. > > Simplifying car-seat design and installation also might be beneficial, but > that would be more costly, Girasek said. > > Studies are needed to prove whether either change would affect death and > injury rates, but simplifying instructions would be a commonsense > "relatively easy fix" in the meantime, she said. > > "This could be accomplished by using shorter sentences and simpler words. > For example, `collision,' `automobile,' and `remedied' could be replaced by > `crash,' `car,' and `fixed,'" according to the study. > > The researchers analyzed installation instructions from every major child > safety seat manufacturer for models through 1999. > > They found instructions written at reading levels ranging from seventh to > 12th grade, based on a test used extensively to analyze readability of > health literature. Reading difficulty was tied to the number of words with > three or more syllables appearing in 10-sentence samples. > > Readability was not significantly related to cost; car seats ranged in price > from $58 to $207. > > On the Web: > > Pediatrics: http://www.pediatrics.org > > Highway Traffic Safety Administration: http://www.nhtsa.gov > > Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association: http://www.jpma.org > > Ellen Loebl > Assoc. Manager of Curriculum and Instruction > Vision Literacy (formerly the Reading Program) > > 40 N. Milpitas Blvd. > Milpitas, CA 95035 > > 408.293.2326 x 3070 > 408.322.7956 (numeric pager) > 4087987201.1123873@pagenet.net (text pager) > > www.visionliteracy.org
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