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Health Information
Too Complex for Many
Drug labels, consent forms and other health information are often
in language that is too complex for many to understand, a panel
of experts said.
As patients continue to manage
more of their own care, the inability to grasp medical jargon
can lead to worsening health and higher costs, according to an
Institute of Medicine report.
"Many people who deal effectively
with other aspects of their lives may find health information
difficult to obtain, understand or use," the independent group,
which advises the federal government on health matters, said in
its report.
Medical experts reviewed more than
300 studies and found language used by doctors, insurance companies
and researchers is often above a high-school level. Information
meant only for the public also includes highly technical terms,
they said.
About half of all Americans adults,
or about 90 million, read below a high school level, and half
of those have trouble finding information on charts, forms and
labels, according to the report.
Older adults, non-English speakers
and those with less education have the most trouble, but the experts
found native-born English speakers and those with more education
also struggled.
Less-literate patients with chronic
conditions requiring constant management are particularly vulnerable
and can have trouble making decisions about their care, the Institute
said.
NAVIGATING THE SYSTEM
Difficulties navigating the health
care system are made worse by the flood of information from the
government, food and drug companies, and the media, especially
Web sites.
"People are frequently and repeatedly
exposed to quick, often contradictory bits of information," the
report reads.
The report also found such confusion
can raise health care costs.
Less literate adults are less likely
to follow healthy lifestyles or take advantage of preventive care,
it found. They are also more likely to be hospitalized and use
emergency services, which can increase health care costs $29
billion to $69 billion a year, studies said.
The experts reported their findings
in a 331-page report that included seven chapters, four appendixes
and nearly 30 tables and charts.
Some recommendations to make health
information less complex included:
"... a national consensus conference
to initiate the development of operational measures of health
literacy which would include contextual measures."
"... the development of conceptual
frameworks on the intersection of culture and health literacy
to direct in-depth theoretical explorations and formulate the
conceptual underpinnings that guide intervention."
Health care companies, federal
health agencies and other groups should adopt simpler language
to make documents more readable, the Institute said.
Reference
Source 89
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