{"id":70115,"date":"2018-02-14T16:33:21","date_gmt":"2018-02-14T16:33:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/insight\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\/"},"modified":"2025-03-07T17:18:04","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T17:18:04","slug":"right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\/","title":{"rendered":"The right words can\u2026 save lives"},"content":{"rendered":"

The headline news in recent weeks that a worrying number of women in the UK are not\u00a0attending their smear tests for cervical cancer got me thinking about the importance of language and tone when it comes to healthcare.
\nThe original name comes from the Pap smear, named after the Greek doctor Georgios Papanikolaou, who was a pioneer of cancer detection in the first half of the 20th<\/sup> Century. He found that by scraping cells from the cervix and then \u2018smearing\u2019 them on a glass slide, he could detect abnormalities under a microscope. The name was certainly not invented to put women at ease.
\nA survey by Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust – a charity set up to support women affected by the disease – identified the barriers that are putting women off having the test. Embarrassment around body shape is the leading concern for young women \u2013 who are also those most at risk \u2013 but other issues such as cultural taboo and sexual violence are major factors.<\/p>\n

What’s in a name?<\/h3>\n

The name wasn\u2019t mentioned, but it surely doesn\u2019t help. Smear is a crude word at the best of times. A smear campaign or the action of smearing lipstick, butter or grease has unpleasant connotations. If a contestant on Bake Off is told their icing is smeared across the cake, it\u2019s hardly meant as a compliment.
\n\u201cThere is definitely some negative reaction to the name of the test,\u201d said Kate Sanger, a spokesperson for Jo\u2019s Trust<\/a>. \u201cFor women who are busy and looking for any excuse to miss their appointment, a negative-sounding name adds no incentive. Some of the language around the test needs to be softened too. Women often assume the speculum is still cold and metallic, whereas today it is plastic. They fear they will feel a scrape, and are relieved when it\u2019s a soft brushing sensation. That\u2019s where raising awareness can help make women feel more at ease.\u201d
\nShould the smear test be renamed? Across medicine, certain acronyms and abbreviations help make a complicated procedure more familiar. For example, an ECG or CAT scan rolls off the tongue easier than an electrocardiogram or computerised tomography scan. Come in for your annual MOT<\/em> is a kinder way of saying that you probably ought to see a doctor. Other procedures have likewise euphemised into something less chilling. For example, the snip<\/em> sounds friendlier than a vasectomy. And the bro-sectomy <\/em>gives it a certain street cred\u2026<\/p>\n

Language matters<\/h3>\n

Does language contribute to care? Phil Blackmore, creative director at Create Health<\/a>, certainly thinks so. \u201cThe right tone really does help. Yes, we all want to know the truth from a doctor or nurse, whether good or bad, but the way we\u2019re told will make a difference to our reaction to that news. We can think of language as an extension of bedside manner.\u201d
\nPhil believes this isn\u2019t about marketing or clever branding, but rather finding names and language that put patients at ease, as stress is proven to hamper recovery. \u201cTake VitalScan for example, a new device that can rule out a heart attack in three minutes. It\u2019s simple to say, medical staff can use it as a verb, and it\u2019s easy to explain. In the pressurised triage setting, it\u2019s absolutely right. Again, for a new service like Push Doctor, which allows you to book a GP appointment from an app, you know what you\u2019re going to get. On the other hand, its competitor Babylon Health needs more of an explanation. It\u2019ll be interesting to see which one will do better in this fast-growing sector.\u201d
\nCatching the ear of patients can be a commercial advantage, especially as we all take greater ownership of our health. \u201cThere are two services, Thriva and MediChecks, that effectively offer the same thing: they allow you to measure your health by sending in a blood sample,\u201d said Phil. \u201cTo my ear, at least, the language on Thriva is more welcoming and more \u2018me\u2019, and so I instinctively feel that it\u2019s a better service. It might not be. But emotion matters \u2013 and it will matter even more as the lines between patient and customer continue to blur.\u201d
\nWhich brings us back to the earlier question: should there be a new name for the smear test, given the current one isn\u2019t working as well as it needs to?
\nWhat do you think?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The headline news in recent weeks that a worrying number of women in the UK are not\u00a0attending their smear tests for cervical cancer got me thinking about the importance of language and tone when it comes to healthcare. The original name comes from the Pap smear, named after the Greek doctor Georgios Papanikolaou, who was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56582,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[439],"tags":[489,496],"class_list":["post-70115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthcare-copywriting-us","tag-english-language-us","tag-healthcare-copywriting-us"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe right words can\u2026 save lives - Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting & Content Marketing Agency<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The recent news that a worrying number of women skip their smear tests made us pause for thought about the importance of language in healthcare.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The right words can\u2026 save lives - Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting & Content Marketing Agency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The recent news that a worrying number of women skip their smear tests made us pause for thought about the importance of language in healthcare.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting & Content Marketing Agency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-02-14T16:33:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-07T17:18:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/aditya-joshi-J2ObdPYRfP8-unsplash-1-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"733\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Anna Fozzard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Anna Fozzard\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.strattoncraig.com\\\/us\\\/insight\\\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.strattoncraig.com\\\/us\\\/insight\\\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Anna Fozzard\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.strattoncraig.com\\\/us\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1aa499016d8e89b274c832b5c5fdfffd\"},\"headline\":\"The right words can\u2026 save lives\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-02-14T16:33:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-07T17:18:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.strattoncraig.com\\\/us\\\/insight\\\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":746,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.strattoncraig.com\\\/us\\\/insight\\\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.strattoncraig.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/aditya-joshi-J2ObdPYRfP8-unsplash-1-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"english language\",\"healthcare copywriting\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Healthcare Copywriting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"us-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.strattoncraig.com\\\/us\\\/insight\\\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.strattoncraig.com\\\/us\\\/insight\\\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\\\/\",\"name\":\"The right words can\u2026 save lives - Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting & Content Marketing Agency\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.strattoncraig.com\\\/us\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.strattoncraig.com\\\/us\\\/insight\\\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.strattoncraig.com\\\/us\\\/insight\\\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.strattoncraig.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/aditya-joshi-J2ObdPYRfP8-unsplash-1-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-02-14T16:33:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-07T17:18:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.strattoncraig.com\\\/us\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1aa499016d8e89b274c832b5c5fdfffd\"},\"description\":\"The recent news that a worrying number of women skip their smear tests made us pause for thought about the importance of language in healthcare.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.strattoncraig.com\\\/us\\\/insight\\\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"us-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.strattoncraig.com\\\/us\\\/insight\\\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"us-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.strattoncraig.com\\\/us\\\/insight\\\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.strattoncraig.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/aditya-joshi-J2ObdPYRfP8-unsplash-1-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.strattoncraig.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/aditya-joshi-J2ObdPYRfP8-unsplash-1-1.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":733,\"caption\":\"Photo by Aditya Joshi on Unsplash\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.strattoncraig.com\\\/us\\\/insight\\\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.strattoncraig.com\\\/us\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The right words can\u2026 save lives\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.strattoncraig.com\\\/us\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.strattoncraig.com\\\/us\\\/\",\"name\":\"Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting & Content Marketing Agency\",\"description\":\"Written Communication\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.strattoncraig.com\\\/us\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"us-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.strattoncraig.com\\\/us\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1aa499016d8e89b274c832b5c5fdfffd\",\"name\":\"Anna Fozzard\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"us-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/55b42191d351ce473f5fececb8547ec9f7922f6dc3a1938e6807ecbed984adb6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/55b42191d351ce473f5fececb8547ec9f7922f6dc3a1938e6807ecbed984adb6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/55b42191d351ce473f5fececb8547ec9f7922f6dc3a1938e6807ecbed984adb6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Anna Fozzard\"},\"sameAs\":[\"dan@dcoed.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.strattoncraig.com\\\/us\\\/insight\\\/author\\\/anna-fozzard\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The right words can\u2026 save lives - Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting & Content Marketing Agency","description":"The recent news that a worrying number of women skip their smear tests made us pause for thought about the importance of language in healthcare.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The right words can\u2026 save lives - Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting & Content Marketing Agency","og_description":"The recent news that a worrying number of women skip their smear tests made us pause for thought about the importance of language in healthcare.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\/","og_site_name":"Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting & Content Marketing Agency","article_published_time":"2018-02-14T16:33:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-03-07T17:18:04+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":733,"url":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/aditya-joshi-J2ObdPYRfP8-unsplash-1-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Anna Fozzard","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Anna Fozzard","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\/"},"author":{"name":"Anna Fozzard","@id":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/#\/schema\/person\/1aa499016d8e89b274c832b5c5fdfffd"},"headline":"The right words can\u2026 save lives","datePublished":"2018-02-14T16:33:21+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-07T17:18:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\/"},"wordCount":746,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/aditya-joshi-J2ObdPYRfP8-unsplash-1-1.jpg","keywords":["english language","healthcare copywriting"],"articleSection":["Healthcare Copywriting"],"inLanguage":"us-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\/","url":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\/","name":"The right words can\u2026 save lives - Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting & Content Marketing Agency","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/aditya-joshi-J2ObdPYRfP8-unsplash-1-1.jpg","datePublished":"2018-02-14T16:33:21+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-07T17:18:04+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/#\/schema\/person\/1aa499016d8e89b274c832b5c5fdfffd"},"description":"The recent news that a worrying number of women skip their smear tests made us pause for thought about the importance of language in healthcare.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"us-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"us-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/aditya-joshi-J2ObdPYRfP8-unsplash-1-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/aditya-joshi-J2ObdPYRfP8-unsplash-1-1.jpg","width":2000,"height":733,"caption":"Photo by Aditya Joshi on Unsplash"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/right-words-can-save-lives-healthcare-language\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The right words can\u2026 save lives"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/","name":"Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting & Content Marketing Agency","description":"Written Communication","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"us-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/#\/schema\/person\/1aa499016d8e89b274c832b5c5fdfffd","name":"Anna Fozzard","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"us-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/55b42191d351ce473f5fececb8547ec9f7922f6dc3a1938e6807ecbed984adb6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/55b42191d351ce473f5fececb8547ec9f7922f6dc3a1938e6807ecbed984adb6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/55b42191d351ce473f5fececb8547ec9f7922f6dc3a1938e6807ecbed984adb6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Anna Fozzard"},"sameAs":["dan@dcoed.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/author\/anna-fozzard\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70115"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70923,"href":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70115\/revisions\/70923"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}