What is Health Literacy? Populations Most at Risk Health Literacy: A Path to Better Healthcare Jamie McDonald, B.A & Alicia Curran, B.S. , Stan Hudson, M.A. Training in Interdisciplinary Partnerships and Services for Kids, Missouri Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities What is Health Literacy? Populations Most at Risk Results of Low Health Literacy Health Literacy is the degree to which the health system provides adequate support to allow people to understand, obtain, and process basic health information and healthcare services to make appropriate choices. Health literacy includes the ability to read and understand: Prescriptions Directions Medical forms Patient education materials Low socioeconomic status Low level of education People with chronic health conditions People with disabilities Racial and ethnic minorities Over the age of 65 A person with low or limited health literacy will have: A higher use of treatment services, hospital visits, and emergency services Higher cost of healthcare Medication errors More likely to have a chronic condition A lower use of prevention services Continuing the cycle of low literacy from generation to generation Low health literacy in the US is causing an economic inefficiency of 106 billion to 238 billion dollars, annually. Health Literacy in the US Map to Improving Health Literacy Only 12 percent of U.S. adults have proficient health literacy. Over a third of U.S. adults (77 million people) have difficulty with common health tasks, such as following directions on a prescription drug label or adhering to a childhood immunization schedule using a standard chart. Which of these children will struggle with health literacy in the future? Since health literacy is context specific, all of them could experience low health literacy at some time in their lives. We can address this by recognizing potential health literacy challenges patients face and developing health literacy protocols and supports for all patients, family members, and caregivers. Creating print/oral/electronic medical Information no higher than a 5th grade reading level Providing education to improve health literacy Create a health literacy improvement plan, which focuses on: Team awareness Solid plan for implementation Teach back 3 focus points Encouraging questions Action plans for patients Patient feedback Cultural Awareness Review current medical material and create new material Follow up with patient References 1. Kutner , M., Greenberg, E., Jin, Y., & Paulsen, C. (2006). The health literacy of America’s adults: Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NCES 2006-483). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. 2. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2010). National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy. Washington, DC. 3. America's Health Literacy: Why We Need Accessible Health Information. An Issue Brief From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2008. AHRQ Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit. Content last reviewed November 2016. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/quality-patient-safety/quality-/tools/literacy-toolkit/index.html This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant #T73MC00022, Missouri LEND. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.