BEST IELTS General Reading Test 546

Table of Contents

IELTS GENERAL READING TEST 546 – PASSAGE – 3

IELTS GENERAL READING TEST – 546

READING PASSAGE – 3

Helping with Health

A. Having medical treatment and going to hospital can be bewildering, even frightening. Here we review some of the ways administrators, medics and adult patients can make the experience both more comfortable and more effective.

All the good work health professionals put into treatments can be undone if their patients don’t understand instructions and procedures. It is estimated that up to half of US adults have trouble interpreting medical information. Poor medical understanding has been described as a ‘hidden epidemic’, meaning conditions remain untreated or get worse. The elderly (those over 75), or those with poor levels of general literacy, are most likely to be unable to understand medical diagnoses and advice, drug dosages and regimes, how to operate medical equipment, or implement healthier lifestyles.

IELTS General Reading Test

B. Simplification is the key. This can be achieved by decreasing the complexity of healthcare systems and using clear, unambiguous language in official forms and letters. Medics need to explain conditions and procedures in layman’s terms and utilize visual aids whenever possible. Helping patients recognise signs or symptoms, such as those of an impending heart attack, may be vital in keeping them alive. Asking patients to repeat or explain symptoms, actions or medication routines in their own words is a way to check understanding. Involving patients’ family members in their treatment can also be of great help.

C. Making sure a patient knows and understands what’s going to happen to them is important in reducing anxiety. Being faced with a needle is a good example. In a survey, over three-quarters of patients said they preferred being given a warning than none at all. The exception were elderly patients who preferred to be distracted by conversation before being jabbed. A fear of needles in a medical setting, Trypanophobia, affects at least ten per cent of patients and can lead to panic attacks or fainting due to a rapid fall in blood pressure. Medics can help by giving patients breathing exercises to help them relax or muscle tensioning routines to increase blood pressure.

IELTS General Reading Test

D. Complex surgical procedures need more explanation and more empathy. Patients may not want to know the gory details about what will happen to their bodies while under anaesthetic but will want to know the reasons and, most importantly, the benefits of surgery. The aftereffects and follow-up procedures also need to be carefully explained. Under the umbrella term of therapeutic communication’, this includes, most importantly, medics being silent and listening compassionately to patients, demonstrating acceptance of their concerns, and allowing patients to lead conversations by asking open-ended questions.

E. For those facing procedures on their own, many hospitals now provide volunteer chaperones. The presence of a sympathetic companion can do a lot to alleviate anxiety. Most hospitals now also have non-denorninational religious staff members who can provide spiritual support, which has been shown to be related to better health outcomes. For sensitive procedures, medical centres can offer a professional chaperone. In these cases, the chaperone is a medically trained individual who can assist patients and make sure sensitive exams and procedures are done in a safe, comfortable, and professional way. These professionals can help protect patient dignity and also prevent any misunderstanding between a patient and their clinician.

IELTS General Reading Test

F. A recent report by Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) acknowledged that ‘language barriers in the health care setting can lead to problems such as delay or denial of services, issues with medication management, and underutilisation of preventive services’.

The latest UK census showed that eight per cent of the population’s main language was not English and, of these, almost three-quarters of a million could not speak English well, while approximately 140,000 could not speak it at all. In the States, sixty-six million people, or over a fifth of its population, speak a language other than English at home. The need for translated documents and hospital interpreters is clear. The NHS offers its information in at least eleven different languages, including on its ‘111’ telephone helplines. It also has registered interpreters available for one-hundred-and-twenty different languages.

IELTS General Reading Test

G. For patients to get the most out of their visit to a healthcare worker, it’s best that they go prepared. Time is valuable, so keeping to the point is important. With symptoms, such as a pain, patients must come prepared with specific descriptions. There are four things to mention: where the pain is, its frequency (for example, every morning or after meals), its duration (how long – seconds or hours), and how it feels (sharp like a knife or dull, like a mild toothache).

It’s important that the patient is honest in consultations, admitting to lifestyle choices that may cause them embarrassment, remembering that medical professionals are not judgemental. Lastly, patients should make sure they understand instructions and advice, and shouldn’t be reticent in asking questions or asking for things to be repeated.

Everybody wins when the barriers to efficient and effective medical treatment are broken down. It’s estimated that diagnostic errors and incorrect medication contribute to the death or disability of up to 160,000 patients in the US every year. Forging strong, understanding, and trusting bonds between patients and medical professionals will help both the health of individuals and the long-term health of nations.

Questions 28-33

The text, ‘Helping with Health, has eight sections, A-G.

Choose the correct heading for each section from the list of headings below. Write the correct number, i-ix.

28. Section B

29. Section C

30. Section D

31. Section E

32. Section F

33. Section G

IELTS General Reading Test

LIST OF HEADINGS

İ. No surprises

ii. Being prepared

iii. An unacknowledged problem

iv. Increasing complexity

v. Hidden illnesses

vi. Lending an ear

vii. Using plain language

viii. A helping hand

ix. A major demand

IELTS General Reading Test

Questions 34-37

Choose the correct response, A, B, C or D.

34. Medication is often less effective than it could be because:

A. drug labels can be difficult to understand.

B. it is of poor quality.

C. it is given to the over 75s.

D. people do not have healthy lifestyles.

35. The article mentions that injections, or the prospect of an injection, can lead to

A. irregular breathing.

B. light headedness.

C. muscle tension.

D. shock.

IELTS General Reading Test

36. Patients undergoing sensitive tests or treatment may be able to get access to:

A. a dignity advisor.

B. a volunteer chaperone.

C. a psychotherapist.

D. a trained and qualified chaperone.

37. The NHS may face problems due to language barriers because

A. it’s difficult to recruit enough interpreters.

B. an increasing proportion of the population do not speak English.

C. it’s more likely that people could become ill.

D. telephone helplines are only in English.

IELTS General Reading Test

Questions 38-40

Complete the summary using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.

Patients should prepare for healthcare visits by being ready to describe (38)…………. such as pain, in detail including location, frequency, duration, and sensation. Honesty about (39)…………. is crucial, even if embarrassing. Understanding medical advice and asking questions is important. (40)…………. and incorrect medication contribute to significant patient harm annually in the US. Strong bonds between patients and medical professionals enhance treatment efficiency and effectiveness, benefiting individual and national health.

SEE MORE POSTS>>