If you want to improve #healthliteracy, it helps to find out what people know, or don't know, about the health topic already. Often writers and health professionals skip this step when communicating. We make assumptions or guesses. We end up giving too much, too little or completely irrelevant information.
But it's possible to find out what people know, or want to know! I recently came across this study, which examined people's concerns about endometriosis by looking at questions/concerns on social media. I like the methodology they use in this study.
You could do audience research in this way. Or you could take less formal approach.
Many years back, I was involved in testing the usability of Consumer Medicine Information (CMI) with real, live, human beings. Interviewing consumers gave me so many insights in to how everyday people use and interpret information. This has helped me avoid some of the pitfalls in creating quality, usable health information.
One thing is for certain - the more you involve and understand the people in your intended audience, the better information you'll end up providing. And that will help improve health literacy and (hopefully) health outcomes.
#healthliteracymonth #healthcommunication #healthwriter
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