Importance of Health Literacy

1. Importance of Health Literacy North Bay Literacy Council BScN Project Team

2. Ice Breaker Autograph Sheet • The objective is to find a person in the group who fits one of the descriptions and get that person’s autograph next to the trait • Each person may sign each sheet only once • Time limit 5 minutes

3. Workshop Outcomes • To differentiate between the roles of tutors and health care professionals • To understand what health literacy is • To teach the students that they have the right to ask questions • To understand the importance of health literacy and its impact • To integrate teaching strategies into your lesson plans

4. Shared Goals but Different Roles • Identify the following roles as: • Tutors • Medical Professionals • Both

5. Shared Goals but Different Roles • Offer and explain appropriate screening procedures • A) Tutors • B) Medical Professionals • C) Both

6. Shared Goals but Different Roles • Enhance ability to complete forms, make inquiries for information and navigate new environments • A) Tutors • B) Medical Professionals • C) Both

7. Shared Goals but Different Roles • Teach how to read medicine labels and calculate amounts and timing of dosages • A) Tutors • B) Medical Professionals • C) Both

8. Shared Goals but Different Roles • Teach how to use medical tools, such as inhalers and glucose monitors • A) Tutors • B) Medical Professional • C) Both

9. Shared Goals but Different Roles • Help learn to locate information to guide health related decisions • A) Tutors • B) Medical Professionals • C) Both

10. Shared Goals but Different RolesMedical Professionals’ Role • Make health care services and resources available to patients • Offer and explain appropriate screening procedures • Diagnose illness and develop a plan for patient care • Prescribe medicines and explain their purpose and side effects • Teach patients how to use medical tools, such as inhalers and glucose meters • Teach patient how to read medicine labels and calculate amounts and timing of dosages • Suggest measures to protect individual and family health

11. Shared Goals but Different Roles Tutors’ Role • Enhance students’ ability to complete forms, make inquiries from information and navigate new environments • Teach students to ask questions about tests, test procedures, and results • Develop students’ capacity to participate in planning by seeking clarification and offering suggestions • Teach students how to read medicine labels and calculate amounts and timing of dosages • Help students learn to locate information to guide their health-related decisions • Strengthen students’ ability to read charts and scales and interpret ranges

12. Responsibilities of the Tutor • Provide guidance and support in finding answers • Understand literacy-related barriers to health care • Contribute to increasing a student’s ability to: • access care • interact with their health care provider • advocate for their rights

13. Health Literacy“WHAT”

14. What is Health Literacy? • According to the Calgary Charter on Health Literacy: • Allows the public and personnel working in all health-related contexts to find, understand, evaluate, communicate, and use information

15. What is Health Literacy? According to the 2002 Joint Committee on Health Education Terminology: • Health literacy is “the capacity of an individual to obtain, interpret, and understand basic health information and services and the competence to use such information and services in ways that are health enhancing.”

16. Skills Required for Health Literacy • Reading • Writing • Numeracy • Communication • Listening • Speaking • Interaction • Critical analysis • Computer skills

17. Statistics According to the Canadian Council of Learning (2007): • “The majority of adult Canadians (60%) lack the capacity to obtain, understand and act upon health information and services and to make appropriate health decisions on their own”

18. Statistics According to the Canadian Business Task Force on Literacy (1988): • “It is estimated that the annual cost to Canadian businesses from lost productivity due to illiteracy was 4 billion dollars”

19. Statistics According to the North Bay Literacy Council’s Literacy and Health Project (2007): • Health care providers in North Bay felt that an average of 10 % of their patients had low health literacy when in fact 70% of people in the North Bay have low health literacy

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21. In their shoes • How does this exercise make you feel? • Do you feel confident with this information? • Would you consent to this procedure? Why or why not? • How would you go about getting more information?

22. Ask Me 3 • The Ask Me 3 campaign promotes adults to ask these 3 questions: • What is my main problem? • What do I need to do? • Why is it important for me to do this?

23. Health Literacy “WHY”

24. Why is health literacy important? • Increases ability to access needed health information and care • Allows interaction with health care workers • Enables advocacy for their rights

25. Determinants of Health

26. Direct Effects of Low Literacy on Health • Have difficulty finding and understanding health information • Have more health problems • Make more mistakes with medications • Have more workplace accidents

27. Indirect Effects of Low Literacy on Health • Have lower paying jobs and be unemployed • Feel more stress and be more vulnerable when things go wrong • Have unhealthy habits such as smoking and not getting enough exercise • Have more visits to the hospital and to stay in the hospital longer • Have more difficult in using the health care system

28. What Effects Literacy?

29. But Why? • Jason’s Story

30. 10 Minute Break

31. Health Literacy “How”

32. Components of Health Literacy • Health Promotion • Health Protection • Disease Prevention • Health Care and Maintenance • Navigation

33. Components of Health Literacy Health Promotion • Enhances and maintains health • For example: • Reading food labels and recipes • Preparing dishes from recipes and learning about nutrition and healthy balanced diets

34. Components of Health Literacy Health Protection • Safeguards health of individuals • For example: • Reading labels on cleaning products or health and safety posting at work • Voting on community issues and avoiding harmful exposures

35. Components of Health Literacy Disease Prevention • Takes preventative measures and engages in screening and early detection • For example: • Reading charts and graphs and postings for immunizations and screening • Taking preventative actions and engaging in screening of diagnostics tests

36. Components of Health Literacy Health Care & Maintenance • Seeks care and forms partnerships with doctors or dentists • For example: • Reciting medical history, reading health information and labels, following instructions and medical recommendations • Seeking professional care when needed, describing symptoms, following directions, measuring symptoms, and adjusting their regimen as needed

37. Components of Health Literacy Navigation • Accesses health services, and makes use of benefits • For example: • Completing forms, understanding statements of rights and informed consent • Locating facilities, applying for benefits, filling out forms, and offering informed consent

38. Why is it important for him to walk up the river? The River Parable Whatdoes the man in the story represent?

39. Teaching Tasks • These are some of the things that the student may need help with: • Filling out medical forms • Making doctors appointments • Describing symptoms • Taking medicine • Understanding screening tests

40. Common Screening Tests • Visual Exam • Cholesterol Screening • Fasting Blood Sugar • Thyroid Tests • Blood Tests (for HIV or STDs) • Colonoscopy • Mammogram (women) • Pap Smear (women) • Prostate Test (men)

41. Barriers • Costs • Understanding • Planning • Knowledge • Discomfort • Fate • Fear • Access

42. Resources • Many resources are available for you to use when looking for material to integrate into your lessons • Primary resources are Julie Patterson and Joe Mutch who can help you find information that pertains to your needs • The Literacy Council Library • Internet • Public Health Unit • Accredited magazines • Associations related to specific disorders……

43. References Diem, E. (2005). Community health nursing: Using projects as an entry point practice. In Diem, E. and Moyer, A. Community health nursing projects (pg 11). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Moyer, A. (2005). Starting well: Beginning a small scale project. In Diem, E. and Moyer, A. Community health nursing projects (pg 75-76). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Petch, E., Ronson, B., & Rootman, I. (2004). Literacy and health in Canada: What we have learned and what can help in the future (Clear language edition). Canadian institute of health research. Patterson, J. (2007). Health literacy seen through the eyes of low literacy learners and health care providers: A report of the council’s literacy and health project. Rootman, I. and Ronson, B. Literacy and health research in Canada: Where have we been and where should we go? Canadian institute of health research. Rudd, R., Soricone, L., Santos, M., Zobel, E., & Smith, J. (2005). Health literacy study circles. National center for the study of adult learning and literacy (NCSALL), Harvard graduate school of education. www.ncsall.net

44. Colonoscopy Case Study • Your student has mentioned to you that he needs to have a colonoscopy done and shows you the pre-op instructions that were given to him by a health care professional. • What strategies would you integrate into your lesson plan to help your student understand the procedure?

45. Workshop Outcomes • To differentiate between the roles of tutors and health care professionals • To understand what health literacy is • To teach the students that they have the right to ask questions • To understand the importance of health literacy and its impact • To integrate teaching strategies into your lesson plans

46. Thank you for your time! 