They may not understand you

The study titled, “Do parents understand growth charts? A national, Internet-based survey” concluded, “Although growth charts are used frequently as visual aids to educate parents about their children’s growth, many parents cannot comprehend the data.  This finding is significant because many parents prefer to be shown growth charts by their health care provider, and many parents report recording their children’s measurements on growth charts at home.”

Parents may nod appropriately when you show them growth charts, but only 56% in the study could tell you what a percentile means.  Another reason to have the learner teach back the information to you in her or his own words.

The link to this abstract and article is:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19786446?dopt=Abstract

One Response to “They may not understand you”

1. Carl Goade says:

   October 4, 2010 at 6:59 am

   Great site! I come here all of the time! Keep up the great work!