Volume 6 - Issue 1
In This Issue: |
 Policy Time
October is Health Literacy MonthHealth literacy is defined in Healthy People 2010 as "The degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions".¹ Health literacy includes the ability to understand instructions on prescription bottles, appointment slips, medical education brochures, doctor's directions and consent forms, and the ability to negotiate complex health care systems. It requires a complex group of reading, listening, analytical, and decision-making skills, and the ability to apply these skills to health situations. There is a move towards a more "consumer-centric" health care system as part of an overall effort to improve quality and reduce health care costs. As a result, individuals are required to take an even more active role in their health care decisions. Unfortunately, low health literacy has a significant impact of health outcomes, quality of care, and health care costs. Therefore, it is an important issue for health professionals, patients, government officials, policy makers, and librarians. Promoting Health Literacy Month at your institution is one way to raise awareness about the importance of understanding health information. It can also be an opportunity to encourage patients and families to learn about their health by asking questions and advocating for treatment and services. Most health literacy initiatives currently underway focus on:
National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL): The Health Literacy of America's Adults²In September 2006, the National Center for Education Statistics released the preliminary results from the 2003 National Assessment on Health Literacy. The report established four health literacy levels and applied these levels to Prose, Document, and Quantitative tasks. The report describes how health literacy varies across the population and where adults with different literacy levels obtain information about health issues. The four literacy levels are:
The table below from the report summarizes the knowledge, skills, and capabilities that adults needed to demonstrate to be classified into one of the four levels for prose, document, and quanitiave tasks. Please review the full report for a more detailed explanation of the literacy levels, literacy scales (Prose literacy, document literacy, and quantitative literacy), and the domains of health care information and services (clinical, prevention, and navigation of the health care system.)³
Preliminary Analysis of ResultsThe information below is based on an anysis performed by Andres Muro on the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) Health and Literacy Discussion List.4 Please refer to the Health Literacy of American Adults Report for more complete information.
Note that women scored higher than males. This is not surprising since women are usually the health providers of the entire family. Also note that close to 60% of seniors have very limited health literacy skills. This limitation may be related to reduced cognitive abilities, limited vision, and/or hearing.
Note the very high numbers of Hispanics below basic. This is likely because many are not native English speakers. Based on this assessment, over one third of all adults and two-thirds of seniors do not understand written information related to health well or at all. The complete report is available at: http://nces.ed.gov/naal/ Role of the Consumer Health Librarian5Many consumer health initiatives are geared towards technological access to health information or rewriting existing health materials at a simpler language level. Both of these approaches are important, but limited. Easy-to-read materials and access to technology are only pieces of a process that must be placed in a larger community context. Consumer health librarians can actively develop partnerships with:
This may take the form of providing space for meetings, providing health literacy materials, or actively developing health literacy programs. Consumer health librarians can promote awareness of health literacy among health professionals by creating clearinghouses of health literacy information, sponsoring health literacy seminars, and encouraging multi-organizational collaborations. Possible initiatives to consider include:
Consumer health librarians can also support the direct needs of health information consumers by providing materials that are multi-lingual, culturally appropriate and easy to read, and by developing methods and materials to teach consumers how to evaluate health information resources, especially those found on the Internet. Health Literacy Organizations and ProgramsHealth Literacy. American Medical Society Foundation. National Literacy and Health Program. Canadian Public Health Association. Health Literacy Studies Health Literacy Center, University of New England Health Literacy Consulting Health Literacy Month Literacy and Health Project Movement for Canadian Literacy (MCL) National Institute for Literacy Office of Minority Health Pfizer Clear Health Communication Initiative University of Virginia School of Medicine Health Literacy Curriculum Wiki on Health Literacy Issues World Education, Health and Literacy Initiative References1U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (2000). Health People 2010: Understanding and Improving Health. http://www.healthypeople.gov/document/html/volume1/11HealthCom.htm 2Kutner, M., Greenberg, E., Jin,Y., and Paulsen, C. (2006). The Health Literacy of America’s Adults: Results From the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NCES 2006–483).U.S.Department of Education.Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. (http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2006483) 3Kutner, M., Greenberg, E., Jin,Y., and Paulsen, C. (2006). The Health Literacy of America’s Adults: Results From the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NCES 2006–483).U.S.Department of Education.Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. (http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2006483) 4National Institute for Literacy Discussion List: http://www.nifl.gov/ 5National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Consumer Health Manual. Section on Health Literacy. http://nnlm.gov/outreach/consumer/hlthlit.html Penny Glassman, Technology Coordinator |
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