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 h8N2FjV12631; Mon, 22 Sep 2003 22:15:45 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 22 Sep 2003 22:15:45 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <3F6FACB3.8BFA4C65@mindspring.com> 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: Wendy Mettger <wmettger@mindspring.com> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-HEALTH:4146] Re: "Health literacy" out "Clear Health X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.76 [en]C-NECCK (Win98; U) Status: O Content-Length: 2120 Lines: 45 Hi all, I wanted to respond to the thoughtful postings of Audrey and Ian about the term "Clear Health Communication" that was used at the most recent Pfizer meeting in Washington, D.C. I absolutely agree with Audrey that it's important to broaden the focus to include clear and understandable communication for all individuals in health care settings. However, I don't want the more specific focus on the communication needs of limited literacy individuals to get lost. During the mid 1980's and early 90's, I worked in the communications office of the National Cancer Institute. We designed educational materials and interventions for the general public and patients. When I first started at NCI, many of these materials and projects targeted middle and upper income populations, rather than the poor and underserved. This was not an intentional exclusion, it was simply that many health educators and others were unaware of the difficulties in reading, understanding and processing information that confronted individuals with limited literacy skills. The work of Len and Ceci Doak during the 1980's and 90's, the research of Terry Davis, Barry Weiss, Mark Williams, David Baker, Ruth Parker, and others, as well as the release of the 1992 NALS data helped draw attention to the communication needs of sorely underserved populations in our country. I should add that the National Cancer Institute currently has a number of important initiatives to reach underserved audiences, many health education materials for marginal readers, and is a major promoter of plain language. I'd like to find a balance between enhancing health communication between health professionals and patients, as well as continuing to learn more about and designing specific interventions to better meet the communication needs of individuals with limited literacy skills. Wendy -- Wendy Mettger, M.A. President, Mettger Communications 129 Grant Avenue Takoma Park, MD 20912 Phone: (301)270-2774 Fax: (301)270-5267 E-mail: wmettger@mindspring.com Principal and Founding Member, The Clear Language Group www.clearlanguagegroup.com
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Thu Mar 11 2004 - 12:17:12 EST