About CARE
A student-led project that makes health information easier to read.
What CARE does
CARE is a student-led initiative. We write and design health education materials, mostly pamphlets and posters, for older adults who find standard medical information hard to read.
Each one takes a single topic, such as a vaccine or a routine exam, and explains what it is, why it matters, and what to do next. We print them to give out, and we post them on this site for anyone to download.
Patients of any age, care managers, and nurses are welcome to use them too.
9 in 10
adults have difficulty using the everyday health information found in health care facilities, stores, the media, and their communities.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy (2010), based on a 2003 national assessment of adult literacy.
Why plain language matters
The same report describes what happens when people do not get clear information. They are more likely to skip medical tests they need, they end up in the emergency room more often, and they have a harder time managing chronic conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure.
That is the gap we work on. A pamphlet someone can take home gives them something to check when a question comes up later.
What every material has to do
We hold each pamphlet and poster to the same four rules.
- Use everyday words
- Short sentences, with any medical term explained the first time it appears.
- Stick to the sources
- The content comes from current clinical guidelines and public health agencies.
- Be easy on the eyes
- Large type, and pictures that help explain the point.
- End with a next step
- Each one finishes with something the reader can do.
Our motto
“If a patient can't understand it, it isn't finished.”
See the work
The materials are free to read, print, and share. You can also meet the students behind them.