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3 State-Based Models to Improve Health Literacy
Pages 7-32

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From page 7...
... General p Assembly and executive agencies to help improve health policies; and • rovide advice to health professionals, insurers, business leaders, p and the public to improve the health of NC residents. In 2007, the North Carolina Division of Public Health asked NCIOM to convene a task force to study health literacy in the state.
From page 8...
... The recommendations focused on improving health care communications for all populations within the state rather than attempting to improve the literacy level of the general public. A 2010 assessment of progress on implementing the task force recommendations found that progress had been made on 11 of the 14 recommendations.
From page 9...
... Checklists are used to see whether providers and academic health centers are using clear communications and effective health literacy tools. Another task force recommendation was to provide more education on health literacy to health professionals.
From page 10...
... and care managers at community health centers; and • he implementation of a congregational nurse program to provide t health education, including health literacy, to faith communities. The task force also recommended that malpractice carriers incorpo rate health literacy education into risk management training.
From page 11...
... The North Carolina program is continuing to conduct research, educate health providers and administrators, and develop health literacy materials and interventions. The NC Health Literacy Council continues their grassroots efforts to build community coalitions and improve health literacy throughout the state.
From page 12...
... The next step in developing statewide capacity for health literacy is to coordinate and strengthen these various activities. The Iowa Health System, Iowa's largest integrated health system, ini tiated the Health Literacy Collaborative project in 2003 to improve health care quality and safety by fostering effective communication and enabling all patients to read, understand, and act upon health information.
From page 13...
... Lurie, a prominent investigator in the area of health literacy, had been involved in the development of an interactive mapping tool to target low health literacy. She currently serves as the U.S.
From page 14...
... Department of Health and Human Services National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy (HHS, 2010)
From page 15...
... Faculty training and online learning modules were developed in collaboration with the Iowa Geriatric Education Center. Grant development activities included the development of reader friendly documents through an ADAPT4 grant in partnership with the College of Pharmacy at the University of Iowa, and pursuit of a funding opportunity through the National Library of Medicine to support community libraries to function as the local "storefront" for HLI.
From page 16...
... HLI also intends to develop an extensive menu of education and training opportunities for a variety of audiences, including healthcare providers, employers, payers, and state agencies and to make material accessible using "plain language." 5 HLI also intends to formalize the network of adult learners to support health literacy education, training, and services. This group is engaged and brings great value to the work of the organization.
From page 17...
... Health Literacy Advi sory Committee, roundtable member Cindy Brach asked Silberman about the lack of progress made on prescription drug labeling in North Carolina. She asked how the NC Board of Pharmacy was approached, what resistance to labeling reform was expressed, and whether having a USP standard would be helpful.
From page 18...
... She added that librarians have valuable experience in working with and educating health care providers. The Medical Library Association has developed a health literacy tutorial through a contract from the National Library of Medicine.
From page 19...
... Roundtable member Will Ross pointed out the importance of targeting health literacy interventions to schools, especially students from kindergarten through grade 12. He asked the panelists to discuss barriers to engaging state departments of education in health literacy initiatives.
From page 20...
... That research found, for both diabetes and congestive heart failure, that health literacy interven tions improved outcomes for everyone, but that improvements were greater for people with low health literacy. Silberman went on to discuss the issue of the universality of low health literacy and how low health literacy can be experienced by almost everyone in given circumstances.
From page 21...
... HLM functions to create systematic change in provider-patient encoun ters, to offer education resources that help providers communicate effectively with patients, and to provide access to plain language health care information. A six-minute video about HLM demonstrated the need for health literacy interventions.7 According to Culbert, an estimated 1.6 million Missouri residents have trouble reading prescriptions labels, following medical instructions, and filling out medical-related forms.
From page 22...
... Health literacy universal precautions are needed because providers don't always know which patients have limited health literacy (http://www.ahrq. gov/qual/literacy/, accessed February 7, 2011)
From page 23...
... People are able to disassociate the issue from the debate over healthcare reform and focus on the cost of low health literacy, both in terms of actual dollars as well as in emotional and health terms. The center has been working with the governor and his staff to facilitate the adoption of electronic health records.
From page 24...
... Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport Davis began her presentation by acknowledging State Senator Lydia Jackson for her active involvement in Louisiana's health literacy initiatives and for her assistance in crafting the IOM workshop presentation. She pointed out that involving political leaders at the state level is important because with healthcare reform, states will enroll more people in Medicaid and yet have fewer resources as a result of hiring freezes and budget cuts.
From page 25...
... Davis reviewed the history of the Louisiana Statewide Health Literacy Initiative that had its beginnings in 2002. As Davis and Senator Jackson began to envision a health literacy initiative they considered the follow ing questions: • W hat is possible?
From page 26...
... Strong critical think ing and problem solving skills, good communication skills, an ability to collaborate and get things done, and knowledge of who the key "go-to" people are to open doors are also important attributes of a champion. In Louisiana, Senator Lydia Jackson has championed health literacy initiatives.
From page 27...
... I • dentify barriers to accessing services and communicating with I providers. • ake recommendations to M o improve health literacy, o promote providers' use of plain language, o simplify forms and procedures, o develop easy to understand health info, o develop health literacy curricula, and o examine impact on quality and cost.
From page 28...
... With a commitment to integrate health literacy within the existing delivery system, there is hope that progress can be made without a large financial investment. Advocates of health literacy at the state level should, Davis concluded, find a legislative champion; connect with key health and education officials; develop a plan to make state health information and services easier to understand and act upon; integrate the plan into the existing delivery system; partner to make the case that improving health literacy is good public policy, reduces cost, and improves quality; and propose a realistic funding level for a legislature with a shrinking budget.
From page 29...
... , asked Culbert whether the state health literacy initiative has addressed the needs of nursing students. She pointed out the important role of nurses in hospitals and outpatient clinics in providing education and counseling to patients.
From page 30...
... . Second, the CDC is sup porting public health departments with training opportunities and guid ance on health marketed to assist them as they integrate health literacy into their programming (http://www.cdc.gov/healthmarketing/health literacy/, accessed February 9, 2011)
From page 31...
... Culbert discussed the importance of libraries in the health literacy movement. Health Literacy Missouri has worked with librarians to create a list of suggested health literacy holdings.
From page 32...
... Culbert referred to the national discussion underway about core health professional competencies and educational reform. The Federation of Associations of Schools of the Health Professions (FASHP)


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