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Patricia W. Martin and Mark MacEachernUniversity of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Michigan Health Literacy Awareness Training Program

This project has been funded in whole or in part with federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, under Contract No. N01-LM-6-3503

Low functional health literacy is associated with poorer health and higher health care costs• Baker, D. W., J. A. Gazmararian, et al. (2002). "Functional health literacy and the

risk of hospital admission among Medicare managed care enrollees." American Journal of Public Health 92(8): 1278-83.

• Baker, D. W., R. M. Parker, et al. (1998). "Health literacy and the risk of hospital admission.[see comment]." Journal of General Internal Medicine 13(12): 791-8.

• Baker, D. W., R. M. Parker, et al. (1997). "The relationship of patient reading ability to self-reported health and use of health services." American Journal of Public Health 87(6): 1027-30.

• Dewalt, D. A., N. D. Berkman, et al. (2004). "Literacy and health outcomes: a systematic review of the literature." Journal of General Internal Medicine 19(12): 1228-39.

• Schillinger, D., K. Grumbach, et al. (2002). "Association of health literacy with diabetes outcomes.[see comment]." JAMA 288(4): 475-82.

• Weiss, B. D. and R. Palmer (2004). "Relationship between health care costs and very low literacy skills in a medically needy and indigent Medicaid population." Journal of the American Board of Family Practice 17(1): 44-7.

• Williams, M. V., D. W. Baker, et al. (1998). "Inadequate literacy is a barrier to asthma knowledge and self-care." Chest 114(4): 1008-15.

• Williams, M. V., D. W. Baker, et al. (1998). "Relationship of functional health literacy to patients' knowledge of their chronic disease. A study of patients with hypertension and diabetes." Archives of internal medicine 158(2): 166-72.

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Robert Wood Johnson, Reaching America’s Health Potential Among Adults 

provides information on the issue of differences in health based on levels of education with state specific data and slides are available on line.

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Reaching America’s Health Potential:A State-by-State Look at Adult Health

pmartin@umich.edu, March 2009

12% of WC adults have low basic literacy

The Project…

• Raise awareness of low literacy and provide resources to address issue

• Partnered with Washtenaw Literacy, Clinic staff and providers, and College of Pharmacy class

• HSL received health disparities subcontract from NN/LM GMR

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Funded as a Health Disparities Subcontract

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Our Goals1. Develop a health literacy awareness-resources training

workshop2. Provide health literacy awareness-resources training to

health providers in underserved areas3. Collaborate with health providers to develop a

comprehensive health literacy awareness toolkit4. Develop Michigan Health Literacy Awareness Training

Program website to disseminate the toolkit, information about future health literacy projects

5. Provide a community forum for further discussion about health literacy issues and sharing of resources

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1. Develop a health literacy awareness / resources training workshop

• Cross-training session• Six staff from Washtenaw Literacy provided

sensitivity training– 2 hour session– 18 HSL staff members

• The WL staff were introduced to MedlinePlus by one of the HSL librarians

– 2 hour session– They weren’t familiar with it

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2. Provide health literacy awareness / resources training to health providers

• 3 clinic sessions in pediatrics and family practice• Staff and physicians• Content: Sensitivity training and MedlinePlus

• 1 session in a pharmacy class• Faculty invitation• 12 students, 2 hours• Sensitivity training and MedlinePlus

• 3 of 4 open workshops• Representation from several UMHS departments

– Medical school, Hospital pharmacist, Attending physician, Clinical instructor– Operations manager of branch care center

• What do you hope to get out of the class?– Lessons: value of clinician’s time and content for website

Class Syllabus:

• Low Literacy : its effect on patient health and what YOU can do about it

• Basic literacy facts– NAAL– Health Implications

• Evaluation of literacy levels– Patients– Office Materials

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Syllabus, continued

• Manageable Remedies– Plain Language and Ask-Me-Three– Teach-back technique– Translation Services for ESL patients– Online Resources, just a sample

• Medlineplus.gov• Healthy Roads Media• Podcasts for Consumer Health • Learning About Diabetes, colorful handouts to

print in English and Spanish.• Health Information Translations from The Ohio

State University Medical Center, Mount Carmel Health System  and OhioHealth

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3. Collaborate w/ health providers to develop a comprehensive health literacy awareness toolkit

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• Evaluation process• Post-session debriefing• Online survey evaluations (SurveyMonkey)

• Feedback used to make sessions more relevant and to provide relevant information for website

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4. Develop MI Health Literacy Awareness Training Program Website

guides.lib.umich.edu/healthliteracy

• Site shots

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5. Provide a community forum

Purpose: – to provide practical training in improving

communication with patients

Audience: – Local health providers

Date: – Saturday, October 10, 9am – 4pm

Sessions:– Keynote; Natural language; Teaching-back

process; Translation service; Communicating risk to people; Memory aids; Sensitivity training

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Questions?

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