I have described cytokines, thrombogenesis, islets of Langerhans, and other complex physiological terms. Now, I know the story has to be a human one, giving practical advice and using plain language. My mother teaches adults to read, but I never connected her work with my writing about health. It is Pfizer's hope that this issue of The Pfizer Journal will be similarly provocative and enlightening to our readers. As healthcare professionals, we all intuitively and intellectually appreciate the profound obstacle that a physical challenge such as deafness can pose to verbal health communication.
Illiteracy is similarly devastating to written, and perhaps even verbal, health communication.
Illiteracy is certainly worthy of attention, research, and accommodation in healthcare settings. Responding to the challenge of health literacy will require systematic changes and dedicated resources, similar to the changes and resources we devote to accommodating those with other impediments. Professional healthcare providers are highly trained and continually educated, as they should be. One of the first objectives of professional education is to make the practitioner literate in the healing arts. This issue made me think of my own experiences learning the language of medicine and later, the language of managed care.