Takeaways From Health Literacy Conference

Last month I attended the Institute for Healthcare Advancement’s virtual Health Literacy Conference. While not all of my work is in healthcare, a whole lot of it is, so I like to stay on top of related practices for the benefit of my clients. This was my second year to attend, and I’m glad I did.

Some things I took away from the sessions I attended:

• Low reading grade level doesn’t always correlate with understandability. When applying plain language principles, it’s important to keep the reader top of mind. The grade level should not be the only measure — but one of many — used to gauge how easy or difficult health content is to understand.
• Numbers are everywhere for self-management of health and conversations with healthcare professionals as people make medical decisions. Those communicating numbers need to be aware of what they’re using the numbers for: to inform or to persuade. The way a number is talked about could make it feel different than it actually is (i.e., a higher-sounding risk, which could unnecessarily scare the reader).
• While a lot of people in healthcare communications are using generative AI in some capacity, there is still much concern about inaccuracy, misinformation, accessibility, inclusivity, security risks, environmental impact, and ethical considerations. (That’s a lot of concern.)

Be on the Lookout for Handwritten Signs

It’s a good time to seek out handwritten signs. Do you remember my love for these? If not, take a look here. If you happen to see any handmade signs with charming spellings on them while you’re out and about this summer, grab a pic and send it to me. I enjoy them so much! I took the one pictured here while on vacation in northern Georgia several years back.

Something You Might Not Know About Me…

I’ve rediscovered my love of playing euchre lately and am having a great time of it!

Discussion Questions

What’s up? I’d love to hear from you! Some things you might want to share:

• How do you use grade level measures in your writing?
• What are some of your concerns with using AI?
• Have you ever tried boiled peanuts?