Written by Hannah Harp
Spoon Feed
The majority of teenagers surveyed misinterpreted medical jargon, including common phrases used in a medical context, highlighting the importance of minimizing jargon use with patients.
Wait, so like… sick good, or sick bad?
While we all need to be careful about how we phrase things and avoid using medicalized language, teenagers are a special population that make personal health care choices before their frontal cortex is fully developed, so there is a lot more room for misunderstanding. What counts as medical jargon is nuanced and includes technical terminology (“hypercholesterolemia”), acronyms/abbreviations (“NPO”), medical vernacular (“sepsis” or “bolus”), unnecessary synonyms (“upper extremity”), common words that have been medicalized (“an impressive x-ray”), euphemisms (“sexually active”), and judgmental-sounding jargon (“chief complaint”). Just how much information are our patients missing, though? A cross-sectional survey conducted among 71 teenagers aged 13–17 at the 2023 Minnesota State Fair assessed their comprehension of common medical jargon. The study found that while 97% correctly interpreted “negative” cancer screening results, only 10% understood that “bugs in the urine” indicated a urinary tract infection, only 24% understood that a “grossly normal neuro exam” is a good thing, and none knew the meaning of “febrile” or “occult infection.” Jargon-free alternatives were better understood; for instance, 89% comprehended “no infection in your blood,” compared to 52% for “negative blood culture.” However, while none understood “NPO”, only 48% understood the alternative, “nothing by mouth”. These findings underscore that teenagers frequently misinterpret medical English phrases used in the medical setting, emphasizing the importance of clear, jargon-free communication in pediatric practice. It’s a pretty small study with a pretty homogenous population, but it still packs a punch.
How will this change my practice?
One thing I’ve learned about teenagers is that their bored, scared, and confused faces can look a lot like their indifferent face. I’ve started adding, “that’s a good thing” to the end of phrases when I’m not sure if I’ve been clear.
Source
Lost in Translation: Teenagers’ Understanding of Common Medical Jargon. Hosp Pediatr. 2025 Mar 1;15(3):204-209. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2024-008076. PMID: 39923798
