Category: We Heart Health Literacy

Aiming for Equity in Health Materials

Posted on by CommunicateHealth
Alt: Above the word “equality,” 3 doodles of different heights stand on 3 same-size boxes. They’re trying to see over a fence to watch a baseball game — but the shortest doodle still can’t see over the fence. Above the word “equity,” the same 3 doodles stand behind the same fence — but the short doodle gets 2 boxes, the medium doodle gets 1 box, and the tall doodle doesn’t get any boxes. This way, they can all see over the fence.

Here at We ❤ Health Literacy Headquarters, we really enjoy talking about how health communicators (like you!) can help address health disparities. And since COVID-19 affects some groups far more than others, addressing disparities in our health materials is as urgent as ever.

So this week, we want to take a closer look at the difference between equality and equity. The George Washington University has a great resource explaining the difference, but we’ll give you a quick summary:

  • Equality means giving equal resources or opportunities to different people or groups. Think of a food bank offering a standard box of food to all of its clients.
  • Equity means giving each person or group the resources or opportunities they need to reach an equal outcome. So maybe that same food bank offers customized food boxes based on clients’ household size and dietary needs — and has a delivery service for folks who can’t physically get to the food bank.

How does this apply to health communication, you ask? Providing the same information to everyone, in the same format, doesn’t mean everyone will have equal access.

As you’re developing health materials, get to know your audience — or better yet, actively involve people from your priority audience in the process of creating your materials.

Then ask yourself how you can ensure an equal outcome for as many people as possible — especially those facing structural barriers or disadvantages. For example, depending on your audience, you might:

  • Create bilingual materials to help reach audiences with limited English proficiency
  • Partner with trusted messengers to boost your credibility with marginalized communities
  • Make sure your web content is accessible to everyone — that means considering things like alt text, keyboard navigation, color contrast, and much more
  • Use pictograms to represent key ideas in a way that’s accessible to people with limited literacy skills, cognitive disabilities, or other communication challenges

The bottom line: To tackle health disparities, go beyond one-size-fits-all communication materials — and remember that equal resources don’t always lead to an equal outcome.

Tweet about it: Equal resources don’t mean equal outcomes. So go beyond one-size-fits-all in your #HealthLit materials, says @CommunicateHlth: https://bit.ly/39suANW #HealthDisparities #HealthEquity

Image inspiration courtesy of Interaction Institute for Social Change and Angus Maguire.

Explaining mRNA Vaccines

Posted on by CommunicateHealth
Alt: A doodle wearing a messenger bag and a hat labeled “mRNA” holds up a COVID-19 playbook and says, “Delivery!”

Now that folks are starting to get COVID-19 vaccines, many people are eagerly awaiting their turn in line. But because the first 2 COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the United States are a new type — called mRNA vaccines — lots of people also have questions about how they work.

If you’re still getting up to speed on mRNA vaccines yourself, here’s the gist: mRNA stands for messenger RNA — and the messages these vaccines carry are like instructions for your immune system.

All vaccines work by training your immune system to recognize and fight off a specific germ before it has a chance to make you sick. Traditional vaccines use the germ itself for this “training” — either a weakened or dead form of the germ, or a small part of the germ.

But mRNA vaccines don’t have any of the germ in them at all! Instead, they deliver a small strip of genetic code (the mRNA) that teaches your immune cells to make and recognize a key protein — in this case, the spike protein on the surface of the COVID-19 virus.

Once your immune system recognizes the spike protein, it reacts just like it would to the actual COVID-19 virus — by creating antibodies to fight it off. Then if the COVID-19 virus shows up, the antibodies will be ready to stop it in its tracks.

To round out this feast of vaccine facts, try offering your readers few tasty truth sandwiches:

  • mRNA vaccines can’t give you COVID-19. Remember, there’s no virus in them — and the spike protein can’t give you COVID-19 either.
  • The 2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. Researchers worked as fast as possible to get the vaccines ready — but they didn’t skip any steps or cut any corners. The researchers completed all the usual phases of clinical trials and gave the vaccines to tens of thousands of people, so we can be confident that they’re safe and that they work to prevent COVID-19.
  • mRNA vaccines don’t change your genes. You may have heard concerns that the mRNA in vaccines could stay in your cells and affect your DNA, but that’s not true. In fact, your body destroys the mRNA from the vaccine within a few hours after you get vaccinated. The mRNA shows up, does its job, and then it’s outta there!
  • Serious side effects from these vaccines are rare, and getting vaccinated is much less risky than getting COVID-19. It’s common for people who get the vaccine to get a headache or fever or to feel tired and achy for a day or 2 — and that’s actually a good thing! These are signs that the vaccine is working.

And while you’re spreading the good news about the new vaccines, remember to encourage people to keep taking other steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 before and after they get vaccinated. It’ll be a while before most people can get the vaccine, so it’s important to continue doing everything we can to keep everyone safe.

The bottom line: Explaining mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in plain language can help ease people’s fears — and make it more likely they’ll choose to get vaccinated.

Tweet about it: Want to explain mRNA #COVID19 vaccines in #PlainLanguage? @CommunicateHlth can help: https://bit.ly/3bZ4y6i #communicateCOVID

Morbidity and Mortality: Just Skip ’Em

Posted on by CommunicateHealth
Alt: A doodle swooning on a couch says, “Oh, the mortality!” Another doodle points to a graph and says, “I think you mean the death rate.”

It’s hard to believe, dear readers, but the COVID-19 pandemic has been dominating headlines and newscasts for nearly a year. And that means we’re coming up on a year of being inundated with a lot more public health jargon than we’re used to.

Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve covered lots of COVID-related terms (antibodies! hygiene! isolation/quarantine/social distancing!). And this week, we want to take it back to basics and talk about 2 terms that are public health staples. We know it might pain you (and your public health degree) to think ill of these words — but if you’re in the business of communicating to consumers, they really have no place at the table. That’s right, this is our PSA to health communicators everywhere: stop using “morbidity” and “mortality.”

“Morbidity,” as you probably know, refers to having a disease or the symptoms of a disease — it’s often used to talk about the rate of disease in a population, just like “incidence.” And in health comm, “mortality” usually means death rate — the number of deaths in a specific group of people in a specific time frame.

These terms are right at home in, say, a weekly CDC report for professionals, but they don’t belong in plain language health materials. And that’s okay! Because they’re both super easy to swap out — or even skip altogether.

Instead of:

  • The COVID-19 mortality rate is highest among adults ages 85 and older.
  • Cigarette smoking is a common cause of morbidity in the United States.
  • Vaccines will reduce morbidity and mortality from COVID-19.

Try:

  • Adults ages 85 and older are most likely to die from COVID-19.
  • Cigarette smoking is a common cause of disease in the United States.
  • People who are vaccinated will be less likely to get sick with COVID-19 — and less likely to die if they do get sick.

See? Simple!

The bottom line: In plain language health materials, skip “morbidity” and “mortality.” (If you’re up to your elbows in your public health master’s thesis, knock yourself out.)

Tweet about it: “Morbidity” and “mortality” don’t have a place at the #PlainLanguage table, says @CommunicateHlth. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3ibTUKC #HealthLit

Buh-Bye, 2020

Posted on by CommunicateHealth
Alt: A doodle celebrates the end of 2020 — and the start of a new year.

Well, we’ve made it. 2021 is nearly upon us, and we couldn’t be happier to usher 2020 right out that proverbial door. We won’t harp on what a difficult year it’s been — and in so many ways. Instead, we’ll focus on what we do best: geeking out about health literacy!

For health literacy lovers like us, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented unprecedented communication challenges. And as we’ve all tried to figure out how to overcome them together, we hope you’ve found our content on communicating about COVID helpful.

So this week, we’re bringing you a roundup of sorts — we’ve put our favorite COVID-related posts in one place (broken down by category) to assist you with all your COVID communication needs. Check them out below!

And as we reflect on this wild ride of a year, we also want to take a minute to thank you, our dear readers, for being the very best dear readers. We ❤ bringing you this content, and we simply couldn’t ask for a more thoughtful, passionate, and helpful audience. So, thank you.

With that, we’ll see you in 2021.

The bottom line: We hope you’ve found our COVID-related content helpful this year — here’s to overcoming health comm challenges in 2021!

Let’s get this country vaccinated

Fight harmful misinformation with us!

Racism is a public health crisis

Know your audience

Help people stay safe

Grab bag

Tweet about it: #COVID19 has served up more #HealthComm challenges than we can count. So as we head into 2021, check out @CommunicateHlth’s roundup of posts to help you #communicateCOVID: https://bit.ly/2X0J4gI #HealthLit

User Testing from a Safe (Social) Distance

Posted on by CommunicateHealth
Alt: A researcher doodle joins a video call from the couch, wearing a lab coat and bunny slippers. They say, “Can you hear me?”

Here at We ❤ Health Literacy Headquarters, we’re always stressing how important it is to test your health materials with your priority audiences. And during COVID-19, remote testing may be the only safe way to do it. So this week, dear readers, we’re sharing tips for successful remote user testing:

  • Work around WiFi barriers. Don’t let a lack of high-speed internet limit your pool of potential participants — there are ways around this common hurdle! You can talk to participants over the phone and avoid the internet entirely — or send session materials via snail mail to avoid screensharing issues. If your heart is set on high-speed internet sessions, try bringing the web to your participants! Find recruiters who can safely open their facilities for folks to join remote sessions. Or work with local community partners who can help provide internet access and distribute testing materials.
  • Mix up your methods. Now’s a great time to explore unmoderated forms of data collection, like a video diary activity or unmoderated click testing. Or try a mixed-methods approach with moderated and unmoderated activities — this will provide richer data and help you focus live sessions on your most important research questions.
  • Create a cozy remote environment. When possible, let participants join from whatever device they prefer — whether that’s a desktop, phone, or tablet. Do a tech check at the start of the session to make sure everyone’s comfy with the format. And take time to build rapport before diving into the subject matter. With the right approach, you can bring a cozy-living-room vibe to the sterile void of Zoom.
  • Plan ahead for success. Talk with your team about how you’ll troubleshoot throughout the session — like extending session times to account for technology problems, having someone on deck to help fix any issues that come up, or prioritizing your discussion questions in case internet woes cut your session short.

As you conduct remote studies, be sure to keep track of what does and doesn’t work for your team and priority audiences. If you don’t get it perfect the first time, you can apply your lessons learned to future studies!

The bottom line: Social distancing doesn’t have to ruin your user testing game — get user feedback with remote testing.

Tweet about it: #COVID19 throwing a wrench in your research plans? Don’t despair! @CommunicateHlth has tips to set you up for remote user testing success: https://bit.ly/3gVvHHZ #HealthLit

Things We ❤: ProPublica’s Plain Language Reporting

Posted on by CommunicateHealth
Alt: A doodle holds a newspaper that says “ProPublica” at the top.

Here at We ❤ Health Literacy Headquarters, we’re always singing the praises of plain language. And while we’re usually blabbing on about how great plain language is for health materials, its uses are so much broader than that!

That’s why we’re so excited about ProPublica’s plain language reporting initiative. As part of a recent story about disability benefits in Arizona, ProPublica published plain language “translations” alongside the original reporting on its site.

To make the story more accessible to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, ProPublica used an ultra-accessible version of plain language that goes even farther in terms of simplifying sentence structure. Because too often, stories about people with disabilities aren’t written for people with disabilities.

Reporter Amy Silverman, who wrote the series, said her team was careful not to assume that readers with disabilities would prefer the ultra-accessible plain language version. They recognized that those readers might want to read the original — so ProPublica offered both options to everyone.

And that, dear readers, is the foundation of effective health communication: always put your users’ needs first. Those needs might not be the same for everyone in your audience, and they might change over time, too. And you know what’s great for figuring that out? Testing your products with your users!

The bottom line: ProPublica’s innovative plain language reporting and audience-centered approach show us how to make journalism more accessible — and we ❤ that.

Tweet about it: .@propublica’s #PlainLanguage reporting initiative is a case study in how to make journalism more accessible, says @CommunicateHlth: https://bit.ly/3qEsNvw #HealthLit

Explaining Vaccine Trial Phases

Posted on by CommunicateHealth
Alt: Two scientist doodles wearing masks stand in front of a sign that says, “Vaccine trials.” One of the doodles also wears goggles and holds up a pair of test tubes.

If you’re like us, dear readers, you’ve been eagerly following updates on COVID-19 vaccine trials. But of course, any benefit from a vaccine depends on people actually getting it. And the latest Gallup poll has the percentage of Americans who say they would do so at just under 60. So we’ve got some work to do on this front!

With the super speedy COVID vaccine development timelines, people may worry that experts are skipping safety steps. Often, we can stick to a simple key message to address this: “Experts are doing trials to make sure COVID vaccines are safe. By the time doctors start giving people a COVID vaccine, it will have been safety tested with thousands of volunteers — so we’ll know that it’s safe for the general public.”

In more detailed materials, it can help to lay out the phases of vaccine trials. Feeling unsure of the different steps yourself? Don’t worry, dear readers. We’re here for you with some plain language explanations! Use this cheat sheet to explain the phases of vaccine trials:

Phase 1

With a brand new vaccine, researchers start small. They give the vaccine to tens of people — usually 20 to 100. The key question here is: Is the vaccine safe?

Phase 1 trials also help researchers figure out the right dose (amount) for the new vaccine and find any serious side effects.

Phase 2

Once they know the vaccine isn’t likely to cause any serious side effects, researchers kick it up a notch and give it to hundreds of people. In this middle step, researchers ask: Does the vaccine work?

To answer this question, Phase 2 usually uses a control group — or a group that gets an older vaccine or a placebo (a shot with no vaccine at all) instead of the new vaccine. That way, researchers can be sure that the vaccine really works to prevent the disease.

Phase 2 also builds on what researchers learned about safety in Phase 1. Researchers learn more about any short-term side effects and keep homing in on the best dose to use.

Phase 3

Phase 3 is the big show — the last step before researchers apply for approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and start offering the vaccine to the general public. So they give the vaccine to thousands of people in order to answer the 2 key questions once and for all: Is the vaccine safe and does it work?

This phase always uses a control group. Researchers compare the number of people who got the vaccine and got sick with the disease to the number who didn’t get the vaccine and got sick with the disease. And that tells them how well the vaccine can protect us!

Because Phase 3 tests the vaccine in a much larger, more diverse group of people, it also finds less common side effects and confirms that it’s safe and works well for everyone.

Phase 4

This step happens after the FDA approves the vaccine. That’s right — even after researchers have answered the big questions, they keep studying the vaccine. They gather longer-term data to make sure the vaccine continues to work well and to learn more about any long-term side effects.

Combined phases and pauses

Sometimes when a vaccine is urgently needed, researchers may combine phases to speed up the approval process. But this doesn’t mean that they’re skipping important steps. It just shows that researchers and public health organizations are partnering on an extraordinary effort to get safe, effective vaccines to people who need them as quickly as possible.

Also, researchers may pause vaccine trials if there are issues along the way (this actually happened a couple times recently). And though it may seem scary, it’s a good thing. Why? It means the system is working to keep us safe.

The bottom line: Explain the phases of vaccine trials to boost public confidence in the process — and in a future COVID-19 vaccine.

Tweet about it: Want to build trust in the #COVID19 vaccine approval process? Start by explaining trial phases in #PlainLanguage. @CommunicateHlth has tips: https://bit.ly/37vPZ6p #communicateCOVID

Picture This: Using Pictograms in Health Materials

Posted on by CommunicateHealth
Alt: A doodle wearing a beret paints a pictogram on an easel. The pictogram shows a person sneezing.

Visuals are a powerful tool in our health communication toolbox. They help us convey big ideas in a way that transcends language and cultural barriers. And here at We ❤ Health Literacy Headquarters, we’ve really been digging a certain type of visual lately: pictograms.

A pictogram is a drawing or image that represents an idea in a simple, literal way. We can use pictograms to show recommended behaviors, symptoms, and other health concepts that can be tricky to explain. They’re especially useful for audiences with limited literacy skills, limited English proficiency, or cognitive disabilities. And as an added bonus, they help us reinforce key messages for all readers!

Try these 3 quick tips to create pictograms that will resonate with your audiences:

  1. Use literal representation instead of abstract symbolism. Some symbols or graphic conventions (like “Rx” for “prescription” or wavy lines to indicate heat) may not resonate across cultures. So it’s important to make illustrations as literal and concrete as possible. 
     
    For example, if you’re creating a pictogram to represent sneezing as a symptom, show a person actually sneezing — not just a tissue box.
Alt: 2 versions of a pictogram appear above text that says “Seasonal allergies can cause sneezing.” The first one is labeled “Instead of abstract symbolism” and shows a tissue box. The second one is labeled “Use literal representation” and shows a person sneezing.

2. Incorporate realistic details that aid understanding. Use realistic colors and include details that provide context to help people understand your pictogram. In the example below, we’ve put the thermometer in the person’s mouth and added flushed cheeks and sweat on the forehead to more clearly show that the person has a fever.

Alt: 2 versions of a pictogram appear above text that says “You may have a fever.” The first one is labeled “Instead of ambiguous visuals” and shows a person with a thermometer beside their head. The second one is labeled “Use realistic details” and shows a person with a thermometer in their mouth, flushed cheeks, and sweat on their forehead.

3. Use a consistent visual style. Did you know that our short-term memory can only hold a few visual elements at a time? Interpreting a series of images can be hard for anyone, and it’s especially tricky for people with limited literacy skills. To avoid cognitive overload (overwhelming viewers with too much information), use a consistent visual style and similar characters across all pictograms in a single material.

In the example below, we’ve used the same character and art style for all 3 images to help avoid cognitive overload.

Alt: 2 versions of a 3-part pictogram appear above text that says “Eat a healthy diet. Get 8 hours of sleep. Get active.” The first version is labeled “Instead of mixing it up” and uses 3 different visual styles to depict the 3 healthy behaviors. The second version is labeled “Use a consistent visual style” and uses the same style for all 3 behaviors.

The bottom line: Pictograms can help us communicate big ideas in an accessible way. Try these tips to create pictograms that resonate with your audiences.

Tweet about it: Pictograms can help us communicate big ideas in an accessible way. Try these tips to create #HealthLit pictograms that resonate with your audiences: https://bit.ly/35pn9ov

A Path Forward

Posted on by CommunicateHealth
Alt: A group of doodles follows signs that point toward “health literacy,” “health equity,” and “public health.”

In a departure from our regularly scheduled programming, we want to acknowledge that this week has been hard. Emotions are running high, many of us have been glued to our screens even more than usual, and voting (or doing anything, really) during a pandemic can be super stressful.

And the election results (or lack thereof) show that our country is still severely divided.

Here at We ❤ Health Literacy Headquarters, we talk a lot about embracing uncertainty. It’s a useful skill, but it sure isn’t easy. And as uncertainty goes, this current situation is not the type we prefer!

We don’t have all the answers (or even, you know, the results), but we do know this: we need to stay hopeful. There’s just too much at stake — like the very concept and practice of public health.

Now more than ever, it’s time for the public health community to focus on doing what we can to support health and well-being for everyone in this country. That could mean creating easy-to-understand health information, improving access to quality care, or working to dismantle the systemic racism that profoundly impacts health in so many communities.

The bottom line: These are tough times, dear readers. But we have important work to do.

Tweet about it: These are tough times. But the #PublicHealth community has important work to do, says @CommunicateHlth: https://bit.ly/2JFWOdv

The Truth Sandwich: A Better Way to Mythbust

Posted on by CommunicateHealth
Alt: A doodle looks at a truth sandwich. The sandwich is made of a lie between 2 slices of truth bread. The doodle says to the sandwich, “Hey, you’re full of baloney!”

We spend a lot of time over here at We ❤ Health Literacy Headquarters thinking about how to combat coronavirus misinformation. And lately, we’ve been looking around for more effective ways to mythbust.

What’s wrong with regular old mythbusting, you ask? Just picture this chilling chain of events:

  1. A user lands on a webpage designed to dispel myths about COVID-19.
  2. They skim right over the word “myth” and see: “Drinking bleach can cure COVID-19.”
  3. Then they get a text/their doorbell rings/their cat jumps onto their neck and they never make it down to the part of the page explaining that no, drinking bleach can’t cure COVID. But it sure can kill you!

This rather extreme example shows why we usually let the facts speak for themselves — and avoid restating dangerous myths in our health content. But when a truly treacherous piece of false information just keeps circulating, sometimes you’ve got to squash it head-on.

Enter: the truth sandwich.

Linguist George Lakoff described this approach as a better way for political journalists to report on, well, lies (can’t imagine why they’d need it!). But we think it’s also a great tool for particularly sticky health misinformation.

Here’s how the truth sandwich works in Lakoff’s own words:

  1. Start with the truth. The first frame gets the advantage.
  2. Indicate the lie. Avoid amplifying the specific language, if possible.
  3. Return to the truth. Always repeat truths more than lies.

And here’s an example of how it could play out in health materials:

Never drink bleach. You may have heard that bleach can kill the coronavirus, but this only works on surfaces — not inside your body. Drinking bleach can cause serious illness and death, and it doesn’t cure COVID-19.

And there you have it! A health communication truth sandwich.

The bottom line: When you really need to dispel a myth, try serving up a truth sandwich.

Tweet about it: Need to squash harmful health misinformation? @GeorgeLakoff’s truth sandwich might help, says @CommunicateHlth: https://bit.ly/3kHbhDo #HealthLit #communicateCOVID