Health Literacy Basics
Nearly nine out of ten U.S. adults struggle with this skill, essential for understanding doctor’s instructions.
What is health literacy?
Around 90 % of clinical trials face delays because of this common challenge.
What is under-enrollment (difficulty recruiting participants)?
Participants must sign this document confirming they understand risks and benefits before joining a study.
What is an informed consent form?
Limited health literacy can lead to increased visits to this hospital department commonly used for urgent care.
What is the emergency room?
Some trials recruit participants from registries; others use “decentralized” models that allow patients to do this from home.
What is participate remotely (or virtually)?
This U.S. grade-level range is recommended for informed consent forms so that most adults can easily understand them.
What is sixth to eighth grade?
To improve patient understanding, health materials should be written at or below this U.S. school grade level.
What is the 6th to 8th grade reading level?
When a trial doesn’t recruit enough participants, researchers may stop it early, a process known by this term.
What is early termination (or halting for futility)?
Researchers use this “teach-back” method to ensure participants truly understand what they’ve been told.
What is asking participants to explain the information in their own words?