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- Title
Babel Babble: Physicians' Use of Unclarified Medical Jargon with Patients.
- Authors
Castro, Cesar M.; Wilson, Clifford; Wang, Frances; Schillinger, Dean
- Abstract
Objective To describe physicians use of jargon with diabetes patients with limited health literacy. Methods We audiotaped 74 outpatient encounters and coded unclarified jargon, assigning each term a clinical function. We administered telephone questionnaires to determine if comprehension of diabetes-related jargon varied with context. Results: Eighty-one percent of encounters contained at least one unclarified jargon term (mean of 4/visit). Thirty-seven percent of jargon use occurred when making recommendations, and 29% when providing health education. Patient comprehension rates were generally low and never reached adequate thresholds. Conclusion: Physicians caring for patients with limited health literacy employ unclarified jargon during key clinical functions.
- Subjects
PHYSICIAN-patient relations; MIXED languages; MEDICAL language; PIDGIN languages; PATIENT education; HEALTH promotion; HEALTH education; LITERACY; MEDICAL communication; GENERAL education
- Publication
American Journal of Health Behavior, 2007, Vol 31, pS85
- ISSN
1087-3244
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.5993/AJHB.31.s1.11