Reaching Underserved Populations Ana M. Macias, MLIS, AHIP, MPH Kaiser Permanente Northern California Librarians in the Field kplibraries.libguides.com/home

Health Literacy: Two Diverse Populations 2

DIXON MIGRANT CENTER Health Fair Outreach Event Screenings: Nutrition Education Basic Health Services Health Education Children’s Educational Resources 3 MedlinePlus- Hypertension, Diabetes, Cholesterol, Glaucoma Used with permission from Yolo County Housing Authority

Sacramento Clinic Dental, Medical and Vision Care Patients seen: 3,210 Services provided: 13,325 Value of Services: $1,345,774 4 * Formerly known as RAM California Veteran Stand Down Clinic Patients seen: 226 Services provided: 706 Value of services: $103,065 Used with permission from California Care Force, a California nonprofit organization 501(c)3

Working Outside the Box Population Challenges –Limited reading ability –Language barriers –Lack of insurance –Homelessness Health Literacy –Diabetes –Glaucoma –Hypertension –Videos 5 Used with permission from California Care Force, a California nonprofit organization 501(c)3

Restoring Vision- Renewing Hope Eligibility –Poor vision due to cataracts –No health insurance –No other means to pay for cataract surgery –Limited daily activity 6 MISSION CATARACTS - USA Health Information: Before/After Care Post-operative care Free Community Services Cataract Surgery Information

Health Literacy- A national problem 7 Institute of Medicine… “The degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.” — Source: Healthy People Patient – Physician Communication 2.Drug labeling, medical instructions, medical compliance 3.Health information publications and other resources Adults Health Literacy Level Source: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy.

8 Becoming Health Literacy Agents Low health literacy= less capable of caring for themselves Knowledge of disease is limited IOM 48% adults lack reading/numeracy skills need to act on health information. Functional literacy is starting point Lifelong learning for all We possess skills set needed

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REFERENCES Blumenthal, J. (2014). Creating the future. J Med Libr Assoc, 102(1), 2-4. doi: / Cho, Y. I., Lee, S. Y., Arozullah, A. M., & Crittenden, K. S. (2008). Effects of health literacy on health status and health service utilization amongst the elderly. Soc Sci Med, 66(8), doi: /j.socscimed Estacio, E. V. (2013). Health literacy and community empowerment: it is more than just reading, writing and counting. J Health Psychol, 18(8), doi: / Medicine, I. o. (2004). Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion. In L. Nielsen-Bohlman, A. M. Panzer & D. A. Kindig (Eds.), Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion. Washington DC: 2004 by the National Academy of Sciences. 5. Nutbeam, D. (2008). The evolving concept of health literacy. Soc Sci Med, 67(12), doi: /j.socscimed Wolf, M. S., Gazmararian, J. A., & Baker, D. W. (2007). Health literacy and health risk behaviors among older adults. Am J Prev Med, 32(1), doi: /j.amepre America's Health Literacy: Why We Need Accessible Health Information. An Issue Brief From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services