Lost in translation: understanding of jargon used in clinic-patient correspondence

Abstract

To establish the level of older adults’ understanding of medical jargon used in letters sent to patients from audiology departments after an audiology assessment appointment. Participants were asked to define commonly used audiology jargon terms via an online survey platform. The jargon terms were extracted from letters sent from UK National Health Service (NHS) audiology clinics following hearing assessment appointments. A total of 175 participants over the age of 50 years (mean age 70 years). Of 31 jargon terms assessed, 25% (n = 9) were incorrectly defined or not able to be defined by more than 75% of participants, while just 10% (n = 3) were correctly defined by more than 75% of participants. This was independent of age and whether an individual had had a prior audiology appointment and was largely independent of education level. Understanding of jargon in NHS audiology department letters amongst older adults is poor, and therefore the use of these phrases should be avoided, or their meaning clearly explained within the letter.