How Patients Process Medical Information

The decision to join a clinical trial relies on a key but often false assumption: that patients understand the information provided to them. In reality, many patients—regardless of education level—struggle with jargon-heavy, complex clinical materials, especially during emotionally charged health crises. This highlights the critical role of health literacy, which includes the ability to access, understand, evaluate, and use health information to make informed decisions.

Health literacy extends beyond reading ability—it includes numeracy, navigating information, processing decisions, and integrating emotion under stress. Low health literacy is strongly linked to lower trial enrollment and engagement, while high health literacy supports informed participation, retention, and satisfaction. It’s also a key equity issue, as populations with lower literacy are often underrepresented in research.

Ethically, informed consent requires comprehension. Trials designed with health literacy in mind empower patients to make confident, informed choices, ensuring not just better data, but more equitable and humane research experiences.