Reflecting back is a good way to check that you have understood correctly what you have discussed. By summarising the key points, the person has the opportunity to agree or can explain again what they really need.

Teachback ³  is a useful tool that you can use to check your own understanding of what a person has said. We introduced the Teachback technique in the Health Literacy module 3, “tools and techniques” section. In this video (Duration 2min 21s), we meet Karen who has recently been diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes and Jeannette, a librarian who uses Teachback to clarify the information that Karen needs.

We will use Teachback again later in this topic to check the person's understanding of the information you give them.

A person’s health literacy may be affected by their general literacy and digital literacy.

You can’t tell by looking at a person what their level of understanding is.

Download this checklist to keep

Think about the written information you refer people to:​ ​

• Remember average reading age 9 – 11 years​
• Is the language appropriate for the person and their need?​
• Does it contain health jargon or acronyms?​ Are the sentences short?​
• Is it written using the active voice?

A sentence written in the active voice puts the focus on the person and states precisely what they need to do. Information in the active voice is easier to understand and engages people better than the passive voice. ​ ​

A Readability Checker is a simple tool you can use to gauge the average reading age of a piece of text.

These are free to use:​ ​

SMOG ¹  – simple measure of gobbledygook ​

Tests ²   - document readability checker ​

Microsoft Word also has a readability checker in spelling and grammar options.

 Workbook Exercise (2)

Review a piece of information you regularly give people. For example, it could be directions of how to visit you or details about your service.

Suggest how this can be improved to make it easier for people to understand and use.