Lost in translation?
Facts at your Fingertips
By Emily Margosian, Assistant Editor, March 1, 2024
In a recent article published in JAMA Network Open, authors investigated how well adult patients understand common medical jargon used by physicians (2022;5(11):e2242972). The study surveyed a cross section of the public, comparing jargon vs. nonjargon instructions. Of the respondents surveyed, 96% knew that negative cancer screening results meant they did not have cancer, but fewer participants (79%) knew that the phrase “your tumor is progressing” was bad news. In each of the paired phrases, the study found that the nonjargon phrase was understood significantly better by patients, while participants frequently misunderstood and assigned meaning opposite of what the clinician intended when medical jargon was used.
For a more detailed breakdown of patient perception of common medical jargon, see the graphic below.
