October 10, 2024
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Guests: Sarah Downing (left), Jennifer La Scala (center), and Richard Zraick

When Jennifer La Scala was diagnosed with breast cancer, she came face to face with just how overwhelming and inaccessible patient education materials can be, especially during a time that’s already overwhelming for patients. “We go through different processes of grief,” La Scala says. “There are so many things on our minds: Am I going to be here tomorrow? Is this something that’s going to affect the way I communicate?”

A graduate student at the University of Central Florida, La Scala explains how her personal medical journey inspired her to study health literacy. She partnered with Zraick, and Zraick’s University of Central Florida colleagues Janel Cosby and Linda I. Rosa-Lugo on the 2022 American Journal of Audiology article “Readability of Cochlear Implant Brochures: A Potential Factor in Parent Decision Making.” Ultimately, the paper led to a collaboration with the cochlear implant manufacturer Advanced Bionics.

La Scala, a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in communication sciences and disorders, joins SLP Richard Zraick of the University of Central Florida and audiologist Sarah Downing of Advanced Bionics to explain how they addressed readability and what they changed, like the addition of a glossary to patient education materials. They discuss health literacy and access to care, as well as how providers can improve communication with patients and increase health literacy.

“Limited health literacy is one of the strongest predictors of negative health outcomes,” says Zraick.


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Read the transcript for this episode.

Meet our guests:

  • Sarah Downing, MS, CCC-A, vice president of global marketing, Advanced Bionics
  • Jennifer La Scala, BS, graduate student, University of Central Florida
  • Richard Zraick, PhD, CCC-SLP, professor, University of Central Florida

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