# Presentation: 697090

## The Quick Guide to Health Literacy

**National Prevention Summit**
**October 27, 2006**

## Main Points

- The health literacy agenda should expand beyond plain language and patient-provider communication to include *systems change*.
- Health professionals can be effective advocates for health literacy improvement within their organizations.

## Why Is Health Literacy Important?

## Percentage of Adults in Each Literacy Level: 2003

- Source: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute for Education Sciences

**36%**
**77M adults**

**Notes:**
An additional 2% of the population (4 million adults) could not take the assessment at all because they could not understand either English or Spanish.  The brings the total number of adults with Basic or Below Basic health literacy to over 80 million.

## Difficulty of selected health literacy tasks

- Circle the date of a medical appointment on a hospital appointment slip. *(101)*
- Give 2 reasons a person should be tested for a specific disease, based on information in a clearly written pamphlet.	*(202)*
- Determine what time a person can take a prescription medication, based on information on the drug label that relates the timing of medication to eating.  *(253)*
- Calculate an employee’s share of health insurance costs for a year, using a table.  *(382)*

**Below Basic**
**Basic**
**Intermediate**
**Proficient**

- 0

- 500

**Average score (245)**

## Percentage of adults in the Below Basic NAAL health literacy population

- 1The “Did not obtain health information over the Internet” category does not include prison inmates because they do not have access to the Internet.
- 2Disabilities include vision, hearing, learning disability, and other health problems.
- SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL).

## Health literacy level and self-assessment of overall health

- Source: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute for Education Sciences

## Health Literacy at HHS

## Healthy People 2010 Health Literacy Objectives

- 11-2. Improve the health literacy of persons	with inadequate or marginal literacy 	skills.
- 11-6. Increase the proportion of persons 	who report that their healthcare 	providers have satisfactory 	communication skills.

## What factors affect health literacy?

- Communication skills of the public and health professionals
- Knowledge of health-related topics
- Culture
- Demands of the healthcare and public health systems
- Demands of the situation/context

## Quick Guide to Health Literacy

- Basic overview of key health literacy concepts
- Techniques for improving health literacy
- Examples of health literacy best practices
- Suggestions for addressing health literacy in your organization
**www.health.gov/communication/literacy**

## Strategies for Improving Health Literacy

## 1. Improve the Usability of Health     Information  

**1. Improve the Usability of Health ****    Information  **

- Is the information appropriate for the users?
- Is it easy to understand?
- Are you speaking clearly and listening carefully?

## 2. Improve the Usability of     Health Services

**2. Improve the Usability of ****    Health Services**

- Improve the usability of health forms and instructions.
- Improve accessibility of the physical environment.
- Establish a patient navigator program.

## 3. Build Knowledge To Improve     Decision-making

**3. Build Knowledge To Improve ****    Decision-making**

- Improve access to accurate and appropriate health information.
- Facilitate healthy decision-making.
- Partner with adult and K-12 educators.

## 4. Advocate for Health Literacy     Improvement

**4. Advocate for Health Literacy ****    Improvement**

- Change professional practice.
- Make the case for improving health literacy to management and colleagues.
- Establish accountability in your organization.

## www.health.gov/communication/literacy

## Contact Information:Stacy Robisonstacy.robison@hhs.gov(240) 453-8271