The CDC Clear Communication Index

Index Widget

The CDC Clear Communication Index (Index) is a research-based tool to help you develop and assess public communication materials.

The Index has 4 introductory questions and 20 scored items drawn from scientific literature in communication and related disciplines.
The items represent the most important characteristics that enhance and aid people’s understanding of information.

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Everyday Words

Everyday Words for Public Health Communication offers expert recommendations from CDC’s Health Literacy Council and other agency communicators on how to reduce jargon and replace problematic terms in your materials in order to improve your audience’s comprehension.

Example Material

We’ve provided a few examples of the materials we tested with descriptions of what we changed.

Healthcare-associated Infections
National Violent Death Reporting System
Thimerosal

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Frequently Asked Questions

Resources

Clear Communication Index User Guide [3.66 MB, 36 pages]
Full Index Score Sheet [694 KB, 7 pages]
Modified Index Score Sheet [671 KB, 7 pages]
If you have comments, questions, or requests about the Index, please email ClearCommunication@cdc.gov.

Developing Products for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities and Extreme Low Literacy

How to Develop Products for Adults with Intellectual Developmental Disabilities and Extreme Low Literacy: A Product Development Tool [PDF – 4 MB] – Use this tool to develop products for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and extreme low literacy (ELL).