March has been a month of deep engagement, critical insights, and celebrating organisations that are making a real difference in health literacy.
We’ve been working closely with one of our clients to optimise the health literacy of their patient resources. After refining their materials, we conducted highly engaged focus groups, gathering real-time feedback and appraising the content using validated tools. The results? Resources that genuinely meet the needs of the people they’re designed for. Here’s what some participants had to say:
This is brilliant and should become the standard for all patient information.
Please thank your client for caring enough to do this!
So nice to see pharma caring enough to do this for patients.
I wish I had something like this when I started my treatment!
This month, we’ve also been celebrating organisations that are going above and beyond to ensure women’s health remains a priority. And we’ve been exploring one of the most critical yet complex aspects of health communication—trust in health literacy. Even with the best intentions, trust can be easily eroded, creating division and disengagement. So, how can we prevent this? This discussion led to the launch of our new blog...
Spotlight on Health Literacy – New Blog Launch!
We’re excited to introduce Spotlight on Health Literacy, a dedicated space for exploring key issues in health literacy and their impact on patient care, policy, and engagement. Our first topic? "Trust in Health Literacy: Building, Maintaining, and Protecting Credibility."
Trust in Health Literacy: Building, Maintaining, and Protecting Credibility
Trust is the foundation of effective health communication. Without it, even the most well-intentioned information can be met with scepticism or rejection. Our first blog post explores:
- How to earn and maintain trust in health communication
- The unintentional ways trust can be lost
- The impact of a professional’s online presence and advocacy efforts—how they can either strengthen or weaken trust
Advocacy is important, but how it’s conducted matters. In today’s digital world, strong opinions spread rapidly, and professionals risk alienating audiences if advocacy efforts aren’t carefully navigated. This article offers practical strategies for engaging in respectful, inclusive advocacy that upholds trust.
📖 Read the full blog article here: How trust and advocacy can impact Health Literacy
Clinical Content Writing: Beyond Simplifying Words
Clinical content writing is so much more than just simplifying medical language. If we reduce health literacy to merely "dumbing down" information, we’re missing the mark completely.
People still need complex medical information—just in a way that they can understand, process, appraise and act on. How content looks, the impression it gives, and how words, sentences, and paragraphs flow all play a crucial role in engagement and comprehension.
Key elements of effective clinical content writing:
🔹 First impressions matter – The structure and design of content can either invite engagement or cause immediate disengagement.
🔹 Word choice & readability – It’s not just about using simpler words; it’s about choosing the right words that truly resonate with diverse audiences.
🔹 Sentence & paragraph structure – Well-organised content makes information easier to absorb and act on.
🔹 Cultural & social considerations – The same information can be interpreted differently depending on a person’s background, beliefs, and experiences.
🔹 Accessibility – Different learning styles, literacy levels, visual abilities, and linguistic skills must be considered when designing content.
At Health Literacy Now, we go beyond just making information simpler—we make it clearer, more engaging, and more actionable for real-world impact.
Patient Engagement: Bridging the Gap Between Pharma and Consumers
Meaningful patient engagement is essential in developing effective health resources, but direct engagement between pharmaceutical companies and consumers comes with regulatory challenges in Australia. That’s where Health Literacy Now can help.
As an independent mediary, we:
1) Ensure consumer voices are heard in the development of patient resources.
2) Help organisations engage effectively while adhering to Australian regulations.
3) Optimise how health information is presented, provided, and delivered to maximise understanding, actionability, and engagement.
With expertise in health literacy, patient-centred communication, and regulatory compliance, we help pharmaceutical companies create patient resources that are not only accurate and reliable but also meaningful, accessible, and actionable.
In Summary
March has been a month of insight, engagement, and action. From conducting focus groups to exploring trust in health literacy and advocating for better patient engagement, our work continues to shape the way health information is created and delivered.
If your organisation is looking to enhance patient engagement, advocacy, or clinical content, we’d love to collaborate. Let’s ensure health information is not just available but truly understood and actionable.
Until next month, The Health Literacy Now Team
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