PlainLanguage Pro, a new course on how to create easier-to-understand-and-use health documents, helps healthcare professionals simplify complex information for all audiences and enhance health equity.

Anaheim, California--(Newsfile Corp. - November 14, 2024) - Today, the Institute for Healthcare Advancement (IHA), a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) public benefit charity with a mission to advance health literacy toward health equity for all, launches a new Skill Building Course, PlainLanguage Pro, to help healthcare professionals build upon their health literacy knowledge, comply with policies and regulations, and improve communication within documents for audiences of all education levels.

PlainLanguage Pro, found on IHA Health Literacy Academy, expands on knowledge and skills taught in the IHA Health Literacy Specialist Communication micro-credential. This micro-credential is one of a series of seven toward becoming a Health Literacy Specialist. Upon completion of all seven in the program, participants receive continuing education credits, a certificate, and a digital badge.

IHA's Health Literacy Specialist Certificate Program is the Pathway to Mastering Health Literacy

In response to the ongoing challenges healthcare organizations face in advancing health equity, IHA developed the only accredited health literacy specialist training program recognized by the Institute for Credentialing Excellence and approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). IHA's Health Literacy Specialist Certificate provides a simple yet rigorously designed path to health literacy mastery for professionals in the healthcare field.

"This certificate program gives a comprehensive overview of health literacy," says Diane Webb, Director of Clinical Trial & Science Communications at Health Literacy Media. "From plain language strategies to community engaged research and organizational health literacy, anyone working in healthcare will learn something of value to apply to their work."

Upskilling Health Literacy with PlainLanguage Pro

As the certificate program expands, additional courses are introduced, such as PlainLanguage Pro. This course is focused on key aspects of consumer-facing documents, including:

• Design principles: Making information look interesting, easy to find, and read
• Writing principles: Making writing relatable and easy to understand and use
• Principles for non-continuous text: Best practices for tables, forms, graphs, maps, and more
• Numeracy principles: Making numbers clear and meaningful

Each module within the course is based on best practices from IHA's patented Plain Language Assessment Tool for Organizations (PLATO™). This tool assists those involved in selecting or creating healthcare materials in adapting content for low literacy audiences and using plain language design.

Like PLATO™ and PlainLanguage Pro, each course and micro-credential in IHA's Health Literacy Specialist Certificate Program is developed by a team of subject matter experts and health literacy leaders. To provide a well-rounded understanding of health literacy, each micro-credential targets a unique skill set. To learn more about IHA's Health Literacy Specialist Certificate and PlainLanguage Pro, please visit www.IHAAcademy.org.

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About the Institute for Healthcare Advancement

The Institute for Healthcare Advancement (IHA) is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) public benefit charity, at the forefront of advancing health literacy toward health equity. For over 25 years, IHA has enabled, educated, and supported thousands of healthcare professionals and organizations through industry-leading learning resources and networking communities. IHA offers two complementary platforms designed to empower, educate, and support healthcare professionals and organizations: IHA Health Literacy Solutions Center and IHA Health Literacy Academy.

healthliteracysolutions.org | ihaacademy.org

Notes to editors:

Health Literacy Statistics

The last national study of the literacy, and health literacy, of the US population was the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL). This study found that more than 1 in 3 (36%) of U.S. adults fell into the Basic or Below Basic level of health literacy, and that only about 1 in 10 U.S. adults (12%) were considered Proficient in health literacy. Literacy rates for adults were similar, or worse, than health literacy rates.

Source: Kutner, M., Greenberg, E., Jin, Y., Boyle, B., Hsu, Y., and Dunleavy, E. (2007). Literacy in Everyday Life: Results From the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NCES 2007-480). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.

Definition of Health Literacy, from Healthy People 2030.

"Personal health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others."

"Organizational health literacy is the degree to which organizations equitably enable individuals to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others."

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Healthy People 2030: Health Literacy in Healthy People.

Health Equity in Healthy People 2030

As Healthy People has evolved over the decades to reflect the most current science and address the latest public health priorities, it has strengthened its focus on health equity. This focus is reflected in one of the overarching goals of Healthy People 2030: "Eliminate health disparities, achieve health equity, and attain health literacy to improve the health and well-being of all."

Healthy People 2030's emphasis on health equity is closely tied to its focus on health literacy and social determinants of health. Social determinants - like structural racism or systemic bias - can affect health literacy and contribute to health disparities. Taking steps to address these factors is key to achieving health equity.

Source: https://health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/health-equity-healthy-people-2030

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