Everyday Words for Public Health Communication

What is this document?

This document lists frequently used terms in public health materials and their common, everyday alternatives in plain language sentences.  Original sentence examples come from materials on CDC.gov.  Some words and phrases may have multiple meanings, so check the context of use before you substitute.

Remember, it might not be enough to delete jargon and substitute an everyday word in materials for the nonexpert public.  You may have to rewrite the entire sentence or sentences and use multiple techniques.  As a rule, you help readers when you:

  • Write short sentences.
  • Use active voice.
  • Use everyday words and pronouns (when appropriate).

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75 Years Later:  The Impact of the 1950 Papers on Smoking and Lung Cancer | This symposium will celebrate the achievements that have occurred over the past 75 years in the fields of tobacco control, lung cancer epidemiology and causal inference.  Two seminal papers on lung cancer and smoking initiated these three areas of scholarship in 1950.  Since then, significant public health, policy, and research contributions have been made by scholars around the world.  In this symposium, speakers will highlight such accomplishments and present their current research in these fields. | DOWNLOAD FLIER | REGISTER HERE

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