Mr. Davis:

Thank you thank you thank you.  Do I have your permission to quote your
paragraph on an as-needed basis at meetings with administrative, nursing
and medical professionals who just don't "get it"?

 

Sue Shelly, BSN, MLS

Medical Librarian, Patient & Family Library

Banner Thunderbird Medical Center

602.865.2010

 

________________________________

From: healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of boyd davis
Sent: Sunday, November 30, 2008 6:08 AM
To: The Health and Literacy Discussion List
Subject: [HealthLiteracy 2522] Re: Writing for the masses

 

Speaking as "a mass" --
Make it as simple as you can, and then revise to make it even plainer.
That does not mean 'dumbing down' - check Zarcadoolas's book.

I don't care how high the literacy is, there is something about being
told you have a condition or disease like diabetes that freezes the
brain. I have a PhD and I write all the time, and I'm usually reasonably
competent, but it took WEEKS for me to find anything comprehensible,
simple and sensible about diabetes management after I was diagnosed with
Type 2 last year. I finally found usable, readable, applicable
information in a website for parents and children with Type 1. Forget
"eighth grade": write for an intelligent 5th grader who would rather be
doing almost anything else 

Boyd Davis

--- On Sat, 11/29/08, Ann Rathbun, Ph.D. <a.rathbun at morehead-st.edu>
wrote:

From: Ann Rathbun, Ph.D. <a.rathbun at morehead-st.edu>
Subject: [HealthLiteracy 2520] Writing for the masses
To: "The Health and Literacy Discussion List" <healthliteracy at nifl.gov>
Date: Saturday, November 29, 2008, 11:57 AM

Hi all,

  

I am writing to get some practical advice/opinion on the issue of  

writing for a wide audience.  I am currently assisting someone who is  

writing a manual for training community volunteers who will be helping  

with health promotion for those living with Diabetes. (Sort of like  

"promatores" or Community Health Workers).  Her target audience is  

those living in the Appalachian region of the U.S.  Both of us  

recognize that she may get volunteers who have high literacy skills.  

My concern is this: some of the synthetic estimates I have calculated 
 

show that literacy/health literacy rates in some parts of Appalachia  

are extraordinarily low (significantly lower than reported in the  

KY-SAAL for example).

  

My advice to the writer is to write at an 8th grade level and make it  

LOOK easy to read.

  

Any help would be much appreciated.

  

Ann

  

  

Ann Rathbun, Ph.D.

Department of HPES

200C Laughlin Health Bld.

Morehead State University

606-783-2464

  

  

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