American College of Physicians Foundation's 6th annual National Health Communication Conference: Advances in Health Literacy
http://foundation.acponline.org/hl/hcc2007.htm
On Wednesday, November 28, 2007, the American College of Physicians Foundation sponsored its 6th annual National Health Communication Conference, “Advances in Health Literacy” at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. This year’s conference challenged researchers, clinicians, and educators to “present evidence-based solutions to the problems associated with low health literacy and discuss meaningful innovations to improve health outcomes and service” (Introductions and Opening Remarks by Harold J. Fallon, MD, MACP http://foundation.acponline.org/files/hcc2007/fallon07.pdf). Accessed 12/4/2007.
The conference forums, mainly presented as roundtable discussions, produced thoughtful solutions to the difficult problem of increasing health literacy. One such solution, presented by Alastair J. J. Wood in “Simplifying Medication Scheduling – Can We Confuse Patients Less?” is to develop a universal medication schedule on pill bottles whenever possible (there are always exceptions). According to Wood, medications require that people “know what to take, how many pills to take, and when to take them” (http://foundation.acponline.org/files/hcc2007/wood07.pdf Accessed 12/4/2007. Presentation slide 2). This universal medication schedule would show people what to take, how many to take, and when to take them in a picture format such as below:
Although the conference was directed towards physicians, nurses, pharmacists, educators, patient education material writers, librarians, and others working to increase health literacy also attended. The most notable presentation stated the importance of partnerships. Elyse Barbell Rudolph, Executive Director, New York City’s Literacy Assistance Center, shared her experience with a local hospital. The literacy assistance center and the hospital partnered with each other to increase health literacy. After the literacy center staff trained the health professionals to be clear and speak in plain language, the literacy center asked the hospital health professionals to speak to a basic ESL class at the literacy center about their jobs and responsibilities as health care providers. After the health professionals spoke with the class, the class on a separate occasion went to the hospital to tour the relevant facilities (emergency room, maternity ward, etc.) and ask questions. The class participants then participated in a teach-back session with their classmates in hopes of increasing their knowledge and expectations of and comfort with the health care system in the United States. Barbell Rudolph demonstrated that the partnerships helped both the students and the health professionals. She states,
Partnerships have helped adult educators to “contextualize” the curriculum by using real life material (e.g. registration forms)…[and] demystify the health care system through visits to health care facilities…[and] partnerships have helped demonstrate the gap between what doctors and other health care professionals and administrators think they have communicated and what patients have understood…[and] demonstrate that clinical communication can be a barrier, along with educational deficits of patients (Literacy Community Centers and Health Literacy, Elyse Barbell Rudolph, http://foundation.acponline.org/files/hcc2007/rudolph07.pdf Accessed 12/4/2007. Presentation slides 8 and 9).
The American College of Physicians Foundation 6th annual National Health Communication Conference, “Advances in Health Literacy” was useful and informative. The participants heard from researchers, clinicians, and educators and gained new knowledge and even took home the new easy-to-read American College of Physicians Foundation Living with Diabetes, an Everyday Guide for You and Your Family. This guide has photographs and stories of real people who have diabetes and focuses on the “need to know and do vs. the nice to know” (Terry Davis, http://foundation.acponline.org/files/hcc2007/davis07.pdf Accessed 12/4/2007. Presentation slide 3).
For fuller information on the conference, health literacy issues, and the call for submissions for the November 19, 2008 conference, please see http://foundation.acponline.org/. Hopefully there will be librarians presenting on their partnerships at the 2008 conference.
