This article is meant for healthcare professionals, public health advocates, as well as Health & Wellness Digital Content Creators. It is my mission to be active in redefining the healthcare system and this involves advocating for how we distribute valuable health information to various populations, while taking health literacy top of mind. It all comes down to reaching the right audience, with the right clear message at the right time. In my experience, I have found the majority of the US population has some sort of health literacy disadvantage. According to the US Dept. of Health and Human Services, “nearly 9 out of 10 adults” struggle to understand and use personal and public health information when it’s filled with unfamiliar or complex medical terms.” This directly ties to higher chronic illnesses, poor self care and preventable hospitalizations. While working in Chicago, I saw this first hand with the lower socioeconomic status populations.
What is Health Literacy?
Health Literacy is defined by the US Department of Health & Human Services as “the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.” I value clear and concise communication of information that will not only help patients understand general or personal health information, but empower them on how to USE it. This way they can make well-informed decisions. It is the responsibility of not only the healthcare system, but also the media and healthcare marketers to ensure they reach the right audience with the right message at the right time to properly distribute health information. Sadly, we have a lot of work to do. There is alot of misinformation on the internet with “influencers” spreading misinformation for more “likes”. I also witness very complicated concepts making it hard for majority of people to understand. And for this reason, we have many populations that are confused and willing to try the best fad diet or supplement out of desperation, which can be dangerous if not personalized. This is a public health crisis.
Where does Health Literacy need to be addressed?
It is the responsibility of anyone offering evidence-based health information to the public to take appropriate health literacy into account. This ranges from healthcare professionals, health & wellness content creators, & media sharing recent studies digitally, verbally or physical handouts. More than half of adults living in the U.S have limited reading skills, but most health materials are written at the 10th grade level. This needs to change!
Creating Effective Health Communication Campaigns
There are 5 key principles to follow when developing health communication campaigns:
1. Be VERY clear on your message.
It is important to be very clear on your message. To captivate your audience, provide a solution to their problem or answer to a clinical question is the best place to start. Then seal the deal with a direct Call To Action (CTA) for your audience. Staying to one key topic is ideal as this creates a more direct approach that is easy to understand for most people. For example, if you want to communicate a cost effective solution to reducing foods high in pesticides, like glyphosate, offering a solution to focus on purchasing vegetables and fruits from the EWG’s “Clean 15” list vs the “Dirty Dozen” list. Overall, tailor your message to what your audience will understand.
2. Use Plain, Clear Language
The Number #1 important strategy when building a health communications campaign is using plain language in both verbal and written communications.
Some key pointers of plain language include breaking up complex information into smaller clear to understand chucks, use active voice, use simple language and define medical terms when used, and lastly organize information with the most important messages first. Only offer relevant information and avoid “fluff”.
Below are a few ideas surrounding language structure:
- Use short, familiar words and no jargon.
- Use short sentences (no more than 15-20 words).
- Present stats simply (give the facts, so they don’t have to think to hard!)
- Use tone, examples and words that are culturally relevant for target audience.
Lastly, here are a few tools to assess reading level as well: AHRQ Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) and Flesch – Kincaid.
3. Organize Information Clearly & Use Visual Aids with Simple Layout
Communicating the “need to know” information first is priority, along with the “hook” to spark their curiosity! It is helpful to outline your messaging to what key points you want to make and determine a logical flow before writing the actual content. Trust me, it’s alot easier this way! Also, when presenting the written communication, grouping the meaningful sections with clear, bolded headings is key to keeping their attention.
This leads me to creating a simple visual aid to accompany a written health communication. This is a great strategy as not everyone learns the same way. Some individuals are more visual than others. This may mean creating a simple infographic summarizing your message then distributing on social media to direct them to the written communication for a deeper dive!
Keep in mind the following when developing a visual aid:
- Use alot of white space
- Include bulleted lists to break up blocks of information
- Use images of people who look like the targeted audience
- Be consistent with fonts, avoid writing in all capital letters, and increase the font size for older populations.
4. Use Target Audiences Preferred Communication Channels
Determine the best communication channels and leverage technology to distribute all health communications when possible. In my experience, this is not always possible, but ideal. When I was working on Serve Kids Better Denver Communications Plan with the American Heart Association, we recommended both traditional and digital strategies, such as SMS messaging, email marketing and flyers.
Recent data shows nearly 90% of Americans use the internet, so making use of available technology, such as patient portals, telemedicine and mobile apps can help engage with patients to ultimately increase health literacy levels.
Learn how to create a Content Marketing Plan – Step By Step here.
5. Test/Retest Methods
Before launching the health campaign, it is important to “pre-test” with a smaller population of the target audience. This can be done with focus groups or on a community forum to seek input. After taking all feedback into consideration, distribute in proper channels. Lastly, it is important to evaluate the success of the health communication campaign using a wide range of data collection ranging from google analytics to focus groups to one on one interviews. Don’t be afraid to make tweaks if needed!
Key Takeaways
In summary, it is my mission to advocate for how we create and distribute valuable health information to various populations, while taking health literacy top of mind. It all comes down to reaching the right audience, with the right clear message at the right time.
Need help with your health communications? I am the girl for the job! Shoot me an email here!
This article is for general informational purposes only and not intended for medical intervention. Please consult with your doctor or dietitian before making any diet or lifestyle modifications.
Amy is a Functional Medicine Registered Dietitian (RDN), as well as a Nutrition & Wellness Communications Consultant with many years of marketing experience and her Master of Public Health degree (MPH). She is passionate about transforming our broken healthcare system and getting to the root cause of symptoms not putting bandaids on them.