April 2025 Edition
Dear readers,
It’s been a very full and reflective month here at Health Literacy Now – hence our slight delay in getting our April newsletter out to you. Much of our time has been spent listening, learning, and working alongside regional, rural, and remote (RRR) communities across Australia — and what we’ve heard has reinforced the urgent need for clearer communication, simpler systems, and better support for both patients and health professionals.
Let me tell you about one family.
A rural mother recently shared her story with me — one that unfortunately echoes many others. After a terrifying emergency involving her child, she rushed to a small rural hospital. The clinicians there were professional and responsive. Scans were ordered but not booked, and not available locally. Six weeks later, those scans still haven’t happened.
The family has since had multiple GP visits (the local GP is only available every few weeks), made phone calls, sent emails, and asked questions. Still, they have no clear answers, or plan. The child is showing new symptoms, and the mother is left feeling helpless. In her words:
“No one wants to help. We are lost and no one cares. My child needs these scans and I don’t know if things are getting worse. Still, no one listens, no one is doing anything.”
This isn’t due to a lack of care from health professionals. The vast majority of rural clinicians we’ve worked with are skilled, compassionate, and doing their best under tight constraints. But stretched resources, service gaps, unclear communication, and a fragmented system have left families like this one in limbo.
Health literacy is at the centre of this story — not just for the patient, but for the health system itself. This young Mum wasn’t familiar with how the system works, or how to navigate it effectively, she didn’t know who to turn to, or what different professionals could and couldn’t do.
Meanwhile, some health professionals didn’t clearly explain the urgency, possible causes, or follow-up steps in a way this young mother could understand or act on. Just as importantly, how things were said — and what wasn’t said — had a lasting impact. A flippant comment, likely meant casually, has been replaying in this mother’s mind for weeks, feeding her fear and uncertainty. The result? Missed opportunities for timely care and growing distress for the whole family.
What Can We Learn?
This case highlights five key areas that continue to emerge in our work:
Lack of access is a major barrier. In many regional and remote areas, essential services like diagnostic scans, specialist care, or even regular GP appointments are limited or unavailable. Even the process of getting one opinion can be long and exhausting — making the idea of seeking a second opinion feel impossible.
Telehealth has helped bridge some of these gaps. Telehealth is great and offers convenience and timely input for many rural and remote patients. But it doesn’t replace the value of a physical examination by a specialist, a timely scan or the reassurance that comes from a calm, in-person presence — especially during uncertain or distressing times.
Navigating systems is hard. Even in cities, health systems are complex. For rural families, access issues and unfamiliarity with specialist roles or how different departments work add even more pressure.
Communication must be clearer. Health professionals must explain what is happening, what will happen next, and what the patient can do — in everyday language, with time for questions.
Health literacy is a shared responsibility. It’s not about patients doing more — it’s about making our systems easier to access, navigate, understand and use.
What Else We’ve Been Working On
- Survey support for health professionals: We've been helping organisations improve the way they gather information from patients and colleagues. Writing surveys that are clear, respectful, and useful is harder than it looks — but essential for data integrity, engagement, and capturing what matters most.
- Content creation and review: From patient education material, surveys to staff training guides, we’ve continued working on resources that support understanding and action — not just information dumping.
- Staff mentoring and systems review: We’ve been working alongside clinicians and managers to build capacity in health literacy practice — identifying small tweaks that can make a big difference in patient outcomes and staff confidence.
- Planning for what’s next: The challenges we see in RRR healthcare, digital communication, and system navigation have only deepened our commitment to long-term solutions. We’re developing new tools, educational material and collaborations to meet these needs head-on.
One Final Thought
Despite the challenges, we are seeing progress. Clinicians are asking better questions. Services are recognising the gaps. Families are finding their voices. And across the country, there’s a growing willingness to simplify, clarify, and connect.
Health literacy isn’t just about reading ability. It’s about equity. It’s about giving every person — no matter where they live — the tools they need to be heard, to act, and to heal.
Let’s keep working together to build a health system that listens, explains, and empowers.
Warm regards,
Wendy O'Dea
Founder - Health Literacy Now