Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders - Vol 9 - Evaluating an Intervention to Lower Health Literacy Demand of Graduate Student Clinician Summary Cover Letters to Patients

Oct 15, 2026

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The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association promotes training in client health literacy for university students, including instruction to write letters that reduce health literacy demands on clients and families. This study evaluated a health literacy module in an advanced graduate seminar where students wrote summary cover letters for a hypothetical client. Pretest results showed college-level writing; PEMAT indicated the weakest performance in literacy elements that improve readability, comprehension, and formatting. After the module, grade level dropped to high school, though no statistically significant changes emerged for specific literacy elements.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Keywords

Cover Page Footnote

Authors

Literature Review

Health literacy prevalence and outcomes

Literacy demands in healthcare environments

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders | Volume 9 Issue 1 | Article 11 | | --- | --- | | Evaluating an Intervention to Lower Health Literacy Demand of Graduate Student Clinician Summary Cover Letters to Patients
Ann Miller
University of Central Florida, [ann.miller@ucf.edu](ann.miller@ucf.edu)
Sameep Gawaskar
University of Central Florida, [sameepgawaskar@ucf.edu](sameepgawaskar@ucf.edu)
Venkata Naga Sreelalitapriya Duvuuri University of Florida, [vduvuuri@ufl.edu](vduvuuri@ufl.edu)
See next page for additional authors
DOI: 10. 61403/2689-6443 .1375
Follow this and additional works at: [https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/tlcsd](https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/tlcsd)
Part of the Medicine and Health Sciences Commons | | Recommended Citation Miller, A., Gawaskar, S., Duvuuri, V. N., Zraick, R. I., Soltani, K., Patel, O., & Knox, D. (2025) . Evaluating an Intervention to Lower Health Literacy Demand of Graduate Student Clinician Summary Cover Letters to Patients. Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders, 9(1) . DOI: [https://doi.org/](https://doi.org/)[ ](https://doi.org/)10.61403/2689-6443.1375 This Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Research is brought to you for free and open access by ISU ReD: Research and eData. It has been accepted for inclusion in Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders by an authorized editor of ISU ReD: Research and eData. For more information, please contact [ISUReD@ilstu.edu](ISUReD@ilstu.edu). Evaluating an Intervention to Lower Health Literacy Demand of Graduate Student Clinician Summary Cover Letters to Patients Abstract The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association encourages university programs to cultivate skills related to client health literacy among students. One means of doing so is to train students to write in away that places lower health literacy demands on clients and their families. This study tested the effectiveness of a health literacy module for improving students’ skills in writing client letters to accompany diagnostic reports. Students in two sections of an advanced graduate seminar in Speech Pathology course were assigned to write cover letters to be sent to a hypothetical client at the UCF Communication Disorders Clinic. Reading grade level calculators of the pretest indicated students wrote at a college level, and the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) revealed that students performed worst on literacy elements which are not regularly associated with letter writing, but which can dramatically assist with readability and comprehension: breaking information into chunks, using informative headers, and using visual cues like bullet points, bolding, and font size. Fewer than half of students regularly used plain language and active voice. After completing the module, grade level of student writing had lowered to high school, but no statistically significant differences were found in use of specific literacy elements. Keywords health literacy, Patient Educational Materials Assessment Tool, graduate education Cover Page Footnote Acknowledgment The authors would like to thank Julie Matura for her support in facilitating this research by allowing her students to participate in the study. Her assistance was invaluable in ensuring the success of this project. Authors Ann Miller, Sameep Gawaskar, Venkata Naga Sreelalitapriya Duvuuri, Richard I. Zraick, Kian Soltani, Om Patel, and Debra Knox This scholarship of teaching and learning research is available in Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders: [https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/tlcsd/vol9/iss1/1](https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/tlcsd/vol9/iss1/1)1 The integration of health literacy education within communication sciences and disorders (CSD) programs is increasingly recognized as crucial for preparing students to effectively communicate complex health information.

FAQs

What question did the study investigate about graduate student letter writing?

The study examined whether a targeted health literacy module could improve students’ ability to write summary cover letters that lower health literacy demands for clients and their families.

What tools were used to evaluate student writing before and after the module?

Student writing grade level was assessed using reading grade level calculators, and the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) was used to examine literacy elements that support readability and comprehension.

What formatting and language elements did students struggle with most?

Students performed worst on literacy elements not typically associated with letter writing, such as breaking information into chunks, using informative headers, and employing visual cues like bullet points, bolding, and font size.

Did the module change students’ overall readability level and specific literacy elements?

After completing the module, students’ writing grade level decreased to high school. However, no statistically significant differences were found in the use of specific literacy elements.

Oct 15, 2026

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