Aug 22, 2025
Our previous article examined the consumerization of the healthcare experience and how personalizing communication can benefit brands. One way to do this is by addressing health equity within healthcare communications. Healthcare disparities in access and outcomes persist across race, ability, income, and education. Equitable communication is not just a best practice for brands—it’s a strategic imperative.
A well-crafted message respects the lived experience, language, and literacy level of its intended recipients. Beyond making communications more empathetic and effective (something all brands strive for), recent analysis found that improving health equity across the United States could add $2.8 billion to the U.S. GDP by 2040.
Health equity is rooted in an acknowledgement of diversity. It aims to create personalized experiences, partly by shaping how and what to communicate to a specific audience. Tailoring messages to unique groups recognizes that understanding differences drives effective communications.
Various groups may be predisposed toward specific health issues, presenting an opportunity for brands to jumpstart relevance and speak directly to what affects them. For example, people faced with disabilities have a higher prevalence of obesity in the United States. By understanding chronic and persistent health conditions among various groups and developing personas informed by that data, brands can create customized communication plans.
African Americans, Latinos, and other marginalized groups have a long history of receiving disproportionate care, which has resulted in some skepticism toward the healthcare industry. Acknowledging those concerns and approaching communication from a place of empathy are great tools for building health equity. However, in some cases, brands need to be more strategic to build bridges with audiences who’ve lost trust. In those cases, the messenger can be just as important as the message.
Brands should look to leverage the trust and relationships of local partners to reach specific communities, such as minority-run healthcare providers or community resources like civic clubs and places of worship. As part of the content strategy, explore potential partnerships to reach desired audiences more directly. It’s critical to do this during the planning phase before developing any content, so the partner is truly involved in shaping the content for accuracy, relevance, and authenticity. This leads to…
Cultural relevance and authenticity are as important as accuracy. Beyond partnerships, brands can strengthen this internally by building diverse teams, training staff on cultural competency, and testing messages through inclusive review processes. These internal checks ensure that communications reach their target audience and reflect the values, voices, and lived experiences of the communities they aim to serve.
A Pew Research Center study found that over a third of Hispanic Americans—including 58% of Hispanic immigrants—prefer to receive health information in Spanish. Yet just 9% of the nation’s healthcare practitioners and technicians are Hispanic. These disconnects underscore why culturally appropriate communication is critical to improving engagement and equity.
Health literacy directly impacts whether patients can make informed decisions and follow care instructions. Unfortunately, nearly 9 in 10 adults in the United States have limited health literacy, according to the Center for Health Care Strategies. This can lead to poorer health outcomes, higher healthcare costs, and increased disparities.
For vulnerable populations, including Medicaid enrollees and people with disabilities or limited English proficiency, these challenges are even more pronounced. The National Library of Medicine notes that health education materials should be written at or below a fifth grade reading level. Materials should use plain language, break down complex concepts, and incorporate visuals and analogies to increase understanding.
Inclusive communication avoids assumptions and language that could alienate or marginalize. This includes using person-first or identity-first language where appropriate (e.g., “person with diabetes” vs. “diabetic”), steering clear of stigmatizing terms, and reflecting a wide range of gender identities, family structures, and lived experiences.
Inclusive language in healthcare has the potential to reduce inequities, improve outcomes, and create safer, healthier lives for everyone. Respectful communication is a core recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. It can be especially important when discussing chronic illness, disability, or mental health.
More than 7 million adults in the United States are blind or have low vision, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Approximately 11 million adults in the United States identify as deaf or have serious difficulty hearing, according to the National Institute of Health. However, living with these conditions is not synonymous with poor health.
Reaching populations with vision or hearing difficulties doesn’t just mean providing relevant content but also using the proper delivery system. For regulated healthcare brands like hospitals or health insurers, the Americans with Disabilities Act sets communication requirements. But even if a brand isn’t bound to those requirements, leading with accessibility helps ensure messaging can reach the broadest population possible. For communication to unique populations, consulting with accessibility experts will help ensure requirements are met. For general populations, consider the following best practices to maximize reach:
- Display written content at an appropriate size. The recommended font size is 16px for body copy.
- Ensure there is sufficient contrast between the copy and background. There are free tools available to help check.
- Develop alternative text for all images and graphics that contribute to the message.
- Ensure video content includes closed captions.
You don’t have to start from scratch to create equitable communication. Several resources can help healthcare brands evaluate and strengthen their content:
- The CDC’s Clear Communication Index provides a research-based tool for developing clear, accurate, and actionable public health materials.
- PlainLanguage.gov offers practical guidelines for creating easy-to-read content across industries.
- Readability checkers such as Hemingway Editor or the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level tool (available in Microsoft Word) help assess complexity and ensure materials are accessible to broader audiences.
These tools support regulatory compliance and advance equity by making information more usable for all readers.
Clear, culturally responsive communication is a cornerstone of equitable care. As healthcare brands work to close gaps in outcomes and rebuild trust with historically underserved communities, investing in thoughtful communications isn’t optional—it’s essential. By prioritizing inclusive language, addressing cultural context, and tailoring content to health literacy levels, brands can ensure their messages truly reach and resonate with those they aim to serve. Ultimately, equity in communication is equity in care.