As you no doubt know by now, dear readers, we usually provide health teaching tips for creating health education materials. But implementing health literacy best practices in practice is not only about writing. And we know that for many of you, face-to-face conversations are a big part of your job.
Teaching someone about health in person or over the phone or Zoom gives you 1 major advantage over written materials. you can find out in real time whether your audience understands the information you’re communicating, and then explain it in a new way if they do. don’t do it
How, you ask? The reverse method of learning! It is a technique that health professionals and health educators can use to understand. And with the growing number of telehealth visits, where health literacy issues can be harder to spot, it can be critical to have a solid strategy in place to make sure you’re effectively explaining health information.
At its core, training includes 4 steps.
1. Explain the information. You know the drill. use simple language, choose culturally familiar terms and examples, and focus on appropriate action steps. If you are explaining an activity, say how to find allergens on a food label, show it if you can.
2. Check for understanding. This step is important because we know that people tend to say they understand health information, even when they don’t. So instead of asking “do you understand?”, ask people to explain what you told them in their own words. Emphasize that you are not testing them but rather to check how well you clarified the information. Try something like this. “I know that was a lot of information and I want to make sure I explained everything correctly. Can you tell me in your own words what you should do after this visit?’
3. Explain again if necessary. If your first explanation didn’t quite do the trick, explain it again in a new way. Try writing down the information you provide, circling key information on a sheet they can take home, or navigating a web page together.
4. Check again for understanding. Again, ask people to explain in their own words. Focus on what they struggled with the first time. You can be creative here too. if you have shown someone how to do something, such as using an inhaler, ask them to show you how to do it.
Bottom line: In-person, phone and video health coaching is an easy and effective way to make sure people understand health information.