Read about NCL as Partner in Health Literacy.

Health Literacy Resources coming soon!

Forum Explores the Importance of Literacy to Health

Health literacy is defined 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" in the report Healthy People 2010, US Department of Health and Human Services.
At the Health Literacy Policy Forum, health care professionals and adult educators engaged in a dialogue about the impact on health for individuals with low literacy and strategies to integrate health literacy and adult literacy efforts.

The Forum opened with an overview of adult education and the state of literacy in the United States by Dr. Lennox McLendon. Dr. McLendon noted that of the 205 million adults in the US, 93 million (or 45%) have literacy services at the Basic or Below Basic levels. An additional 36 million have not finished high school. The adult education system has capacity to serve 3 million learners each year and as a result, adult education programs have waiting lists in 40 out of 43 states. Presentation: Adult Education Overview / NOTES


Dr. Peggy Carr of the National Center for Education Statistics explained how the NAAL assessed health literacy, measuring how individuals perform tasks related to clinical information, prevention, and navigation of the health care system. 14% of the adult population has Below Basic skills in health literacy; another 22% have only basic skills. A little more than half of the adult population (53%) has intermediate skills in health literacy and only 12% are proficient. Presentation: The National Assessment of Adult Literacy: Health Literacy Results / NOTES

Dr. Carmel from the American Medical Association described how the patients in his current practice speak 14 languages; he is able to communicate with them, using phone translation service. This service bridges the language gap, but costs $118/hour. If the patient is insured by Medicaid, he will be reimbursed $24.65 for the visit. Language barriers present diverse challenges for doctors. The American Medical Association started its health literacy program fifteen years ago. The program has trained over 20,000 medical professionals on techniques to ameliorate low literacy; in phase two, theprogram has shifted focus to patient-safety and the responsibility of the physician to ensure that patients understand communication. Presentation: AMA Health Literacy Policies and Programs / NOTES

A key role of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is to assure “a safety net for individuals and families who live outside the economic and medical mainstream.” Linda Johnston Lloyd of HRSA’s Center for Quality articulated HRSA’s strategic priorities, including promoting access to health care information, the development of a culturally diverse health care work force, and outreach to populations most affected by health disparities. Protecting patient safety through effective communication is an organizational priority. Presentation: Health Literacy Improvement: Policy and Practices / NOTES

The Institute of Medicine issued Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion. Lynn Nielsen of the DeBusk School of Osteopathic Medicine and one of the authors, discussed recommendations from the report, including where people receive information, the need for partnerships in local communities, and promoting cross-discipline relationships.
Presentation: Mandates for Health Literacy in Medicine and Education – the IOM Report and Beyond / NOTES

Dr. Paul Smith from the University of Wisconsin shared his passion for health literacy. Mortality rates in Wisconsin fall in the middle of the spectrum nation-wide (Minnesota was the best and Mississippi was the worst). A study of the impact of race (Asians typically live the longest), location (people in the suburbs tend to be healthier), gender (women live longer than men), and education on health demonstrated that education, improving health literacy, would have the most impact in improving mortality rates. Dr. Smith is partnering with Wisconsin Literacy, Inc. to raise awareness and promote solutions to improve health literacy. Presentation: Health impact of Low Literacy & Partnering to Address Solutions / NOTES

For senior citizens, health literacy is exacerbated by problems of poverty and chronic conditions. Joyce Dubow of AARP described the cognitive overload of health information; seniors need to differentiate between health care coverage options, choose the ‘best’ doctors within a plan, navigate within a plan, choose treatment options, understand their rights, and manage responsibilities. The emphasis on private plans within Medicare and market competition requires an ‘informed consumer.’ AARP is focusing on policies to address health literacy and advocating for funding for education programs. Presentation: Literacy and Health Literacy: Prerequisites to Effective Health Care Decision Making / NOTES

Senator Norman Coleman (R-MN) and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) have proposed the National Health Literacy Act; Andrew McKechnie of Senator Coleman’s office answered questions about the legislation at the Forum.

A brainstorming session followed the presentations. NCL members and professionals from the health care field shared their ideas to address the solution, discussed ways to collaborate and identified specific actions.