Strengthening Health Literacy Through Policy: Washington State Department of Health Launches a Plain Language Policy

This presentation will share how the Washigton State Department of Health institutionalized plain language practice and improved organizational health literacy by creating and adopting an agency plain language policy and all-staff training. It will explain how and why the policy and training were developed, what key elements were included, and how the policy and training were implemented agencywide, as well as challenges and lessons learned. With this presentation, we aim to support and encourage public health professionals considering strengthening plain language at their organization through policy or training.

Objectives:

•  Identify at least three key elements of an agency plain language policy and explain how each supports organizational health literacy.

• Describe the development and rollout processes for an agency plain language policy and training, including at least two cross-functional roles involved in implementation.

• Identify at least three common challenges agencies face when adopting plain language policies and describe a strategy to address each