Thread by @IvaCheung

Last concurrent session! @sesquiotic talking about translating medicalese into everyday English. #Editors19

Why do we need to translate medicalese? Because health is about people. But in an attempt to appear objective, medical writers remove the people from their writing. #Editors19

Humans with health problems are subjects, patients, or not even mentioned. #Editors19

When you communicate medical information, you have to ask the same questions as for any other communication: Who is involved, and why? Who is speaking? Who is listening? What does each side want out of it? #Editors19

Ordinary people not in the medical system just want to know: Is there something wrong with me? If so, what can I do about it?

They want the technical terms but don't want to be overloaded. #Editors19

Always ask and answer:
•Who is doing what?
•Who is experiencing what?
•Who is telling whom to do what?
•Why are they telling them what?
•What will happen? #Editors19

People want to make decisions and take action on their health NOW. #Editors19

Truth is only true in context (Example: relative vs. absolute risk). #Editors19

Give information that is important—but in a manner and context that help people understand.

The hook, what drives the narrative, is never the whole story and needs context, sometimes a lot of it. #Editors19

People read the headline first and sometimes nothing else. #Editors19

Balance is not balance if you should about one side and shout about one side and whisper about the other. #Editors19

Keep morals out of this: Look for cause and effect, not good guys and bad guys. Words like "natural," "pure," "sick," etc. have moral overtones. #Editors19

Get acquainted with the Greek and Latin roots in medical terminology. #Editors19

Problems with technical jargon: it's scary looking, and people don't always handle it correctly. #Editors19

Reliable sources:
•Wikipedia is often useful but is not the last word and is often too high level
•US & Canadian governments give reliable information but some things are country specific #Editors19

•High-quality commercial sites include MayoClinic.com and MedBroadcast.com
•Large advocacy groups like the American Cancer Society are trustworthy, but check the dates and consider contests. #Editors19

•Double-check info from organizations you haven't heard of and anyone who seems to have something to sell. #Editors19

News releases about studies tend to state the catchiest parts. See if you can read at least the abstract of the actual study. You may find the findings more qualified and less dramatic. #Editors19

Tell people what they want to know, but make sure they get what they *need* to know. #Editors19

People associate how vividly something is expressed with how important it is. #Editors19

"Write and edit like you could get sued by the people reading it." #Editors19

Guidelines (not rules!):
More words may be better. Short, tight sentences may force readers to fill in the gaps, sometimes incorrectly. Show the connections explicitly, even if it means making the sentence longer. #Editors19

Reduce the noun count. "Nouns are meaty, but verbs, conjunctions, and adjectives are fiber." #Editors19

Reduce the use *is* and *are*—increase your use of active voice. Passive voice is sometimes appropriate but is overused in medical writing. #Editors19

Cut down on empty *It*. Often used to take the person out—put them back in. #Editors19

Keep an eye on prepositions. Can be a symptom of too much nominalization. #Editors19

Be direct. Talk to the reader. Talk about what to do and what happens. #Editors19

Give signposts. Headers, bolding, index. #Editors19

Check the reading level, but don't worship it. #Editors19