Applying Plain Language Principles to Translated Health Materials (HLOL #242)

Health Literacy Out Loud Podcast

Katie Leath MPH, MA, is Director of the Center for Health Literacy at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). Leath is a passionate health communicator who brings years of experience in making health information easy to read, understand, and use. She leads a team of health literacy experts who create and edit health-related materials for patients and consumers. Leath brings to all this work her training in marketing, public health, and applied communication studies.

In this podcast, Katie Leath talks with Helen Osborne about:

• The process of taking health materials written in English that already adhere to plain language practices and then translating this information into other languages while also adhering to plain language practices.
• Teaching translators about plain language so that they can apply these practices when working on health information.
• Translating health materials in ways that help readers understand is an important step towards equity and improved health outcomes.

More ways to learn:

• University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Center for Health Literacy
• Contact the UAMS Center for Health Literacy to learn more about their program for training translators to use plain language. You can also ask to be added to the mailing list for the Center’s blog.
• National Academy of Medicine, “Beyond Translation: Promoting a New National Standard for Equity in Health Materials Translated from English” by Sprager L and Martinez ON.
• Leath mentioned two readability formulas for materials in Spanish. These are the “SOL formula” and “Fernandez Huerta.”

Health Literacy from A to Z: Practical Ways to Communicate Your Health Message, Third Edition, by Helen Osborne. Chapters that are especially relevant to this podcast are “Know Your Audience: Culture and Language,” and “Plain Language.”

Read a transcript of this podcast.

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