One thing you might consider is encouraging them to use the resources of 
their own professional organization.  The American Medical Association 
Foundation has produced and distributes an excellent resource on health 
literacy.   I find professionals often give more credibility to the 
standards / recommendations coming from their own profession, even if they 
are the same standards recommended by others.

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/9913.html


Kerry

Kerry Harwood, RN, MSN
Assistant Director, Dept. of Advanced Clinical Practice 
Duke University Medical Center Box 3458
Durham, NC 27710
919-681-5288
kerry.harwood at duke.edu

A mind once stretched by a new idea never returns to its original 
dimensions.  A ship in the harbor is safe...but that's not what ships were 
made for.  Wisdom is knowing what path to take next...integrity is taking 
it. 



Wendy Mettger <wmettger at mindspring.com> 
Sent by: healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov
03/26/2008 06:02 PM
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Subject
[HealthLiteracy 1876] Re: help






Janet,

Some of your experience with the high-risk OB speaks to problems in our 
medical system with the medicalization and labeling of normal events as 
pathologies or things that require intense medical intervention. Women 35 
and older are labeled as high risk because of their "advanced maternal 
age." Statistically, it is true that women are at greater risk for having 
a Down syndrome child after age 35. However, that doesn't mean that every 
pregnancy of a woman 35 and older should be treated as a high risk event. 
The labeling often brings a host of unwanted, unnecessary, and intrusive 
medical procedures.  I think amniocentesis is a very helpful tool as is 
CVS. However, women need to make informed choices about what diagnostic 
tests they are comfortable with. 

I've talked with several of my practitioners about the print material they 
use in their offices. I do it in a gentle way and say that they will reach 
a broader audience if their material is more clear and easy-to-read. 
Mostly, I've gotten a positive response to these suggestions - in part 
because they know that I have some credibility in the communication arena. 


You might contact the people who wrote the form letter and briefly explain 
your reaction. As a patient, you could let them know that the most 
important information for you was whether or not your baby had Down 
syndrome and that's the first thing you want to read about. Something as 
simple as organizing the information based on what's most important to the 
patient can make a big difference. 

Wendy Mettger 

Wendy Mettger, M.A.
President, Mettger Communications
129 Grant Avenue
Takoma Park, MD 20912
Phone: (301)270-2774   Fax: (301)270-5267
E-mail: wmettger at mindspring.com 

Principal and Founding Member, The Clear Language Group 
www.clearlanguagegroup.com


Janet Sorensen wrote:
Since I'm not quite as formally educated or experienced on this subject as 
the rest of you, I have a question from a personal as well as professional 
perspective.
 
As I'm sure many of you have experienced, I'm often handed printed 
materials in the course of my own health care (or a loved one's), or asked 
to fill out forms that I am tempted to rewrite, redesign and hand back to 
the health care provider or staff member. As a writer, I've seriously 
considered doing this (but waiting until my or my relative's health care 
crisis or issue has been resolved). Is there a graceful, persuasive and 
nonoffensive way to make suggestions to health care providers regarding, 
say, written materials, preop and postop materials and processes, and so 
forth? Anything that has worked or specifically NOT worked for you in 
winning support from health care providers or others who are in a position 
to make seemingly simple changes? I don't want to come across as a 
know-it-all because, for one thing, I don't know it all, and also because 
such an approach or attitude would not serve our purpose.
 
An example -- during my pregnancy, I was referred for a diagnostic 
ultrasound because of my "advanced maternal age" and because I had decided 
against amniocentesis. After the ultrasound, the high-risk OB again tried 
to talk me into amnio and again I politely refused. He said the ultrasound 
looked ok but would be read in more detail later. A few days later, I got 
a form letter. The first four paragraphs talked about Down syndrome, what 
it is, risk factors, "markers," and so forth, and how women with "advanced 
maternal age" are at greater risk. In the fifth paragraph, it explained 
that my ultrasound was (fill in the blank) negative for all of the Down 
syndrome markers. But by then I had already assumed my unborn child had 
Down syndrome and was freaking completely out. I ran the Gunning-Fog on it 
out of curiosity, and it was higher than 12th grade, besides just being 
badly written and badly organized.
 
When I mentioned this experience to my own personal OB (not the high-risk 
guy) and said that I thought the letter could have been written more 
effectively for the audience, he said it's too bad these uneducated people 
can't read nowadays. I agreed and said it's also too bad some educated 
people can't write nowadays. It occurs to me now, that probably wasn't the 
best response for building collaboration and support...I'm blaming 
hormones.
 
I'm asking now because I just went through a grueling pre-op process at an 
academic medical center with my 76-year-old mom, and we had to fill out 
the exact same detailed form at five different clinics, although they have 
electronic records there. I had to help an old man in one of the various 
waiting rooms, who could not bend his arm and had no one to help him 
write. And that's just the beginning. But I will stop now.
 
Any words of advice on how I could effectively offer my own, for the sake 
of my blood pressure if nothing else? I realize health literacy and health 
communication are huge and evolving fields of study, and we need scholarly 
papers and more research, but we also need front-line fighters. Or maybe 
guerilla is a better term. Polite and respectful, of course. Any response 
will be appreciated. thx jps
 
Janet Sorensen
Web Writer
Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care
501-212-8644
 
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