The Gauntlet is Thrown: A Health Literacy Instructor Challenge!

Fresh from the Health Literacy Department - One of the best ways to teach health literacy and patient empowerment in the ESL, ABE or GED classroom is to guide your learners through their development of a personal health journal. A few years ago we developed the Doctor's Visit Toolkit. Inside, we provided general tips to be an empowered patient and templates for learners to practice completing common forms they'll see in the healthcare setting. Together with learners, we work our way through the Doctor's Visit Toolkit and upon completion, we encourage learners to bring it with them as a reference tool the next time they go to the clinic or hospital.
 

Through mid-July, we're challenging our Central Texas instructors to take on the Doctor's Visit Toolkit with their learners. Use it as an ongoing project that learners work on over several weeks. Once you've completed the activity with your class, send us an email with a sample of the journal you've created. Literacy Coalition employees and advisers will choose the top three models and share them in our next quarterly newsletter (scheduled for release on July 15th). The creator of the top journal will also have a featured article in the newsletter (distribution to 1000+ people) and win a prize package valued over $50!

Much of what you might include in a health journal can be found on our Resources Page. Email Peter if you don't have the 1st Edition of the Health Literacy Instructional Manual yet (that will be a great resource to get you started!) or if you'd like some templates of medical forms that were used in the Doctor's Visit Toolkit.


Things you might include...just to get you started:

1. Medication schedule chart
2. Medical history form
3. Family history
4. Sample insurance form
5. List of key vocabulary for navigating hospital or doctor's office (e.g., information desk, emergency, pediatrics, physician, etc.)
6. AskMe3 and other recommended questions to ask the doctor or nurse
7. Patient-empowerment tips
8. And much more! Talk with your students about what they want to learn regarding health information and get creative!  

Good luck and don't hesitate to call or email Peter if you have questions or want some resources to get you started! 

 
 

Health literacy...it's just so hot right now!

Health literacy! Health literacy! Let it ring!

You MUST have heard of health literacy by now, right?!? Have we come to the point where we can stop starting conversations with, "health literacy can be defined as..." or "health literacy means..."

No, I guess not. Sighhhh. We are getting close though! Maybe it's just because I'm engulfed in the world of health literacy every day, but it seems like the field is finally starting to blow up! When I started working with the Literacy Coalition in 2009, a Google search of health literacy brought up a few measly resources. Nowadays health literacy is "the cool" thing to be talking about.

"Psshhh, yeah right!" you say. Well, it's true. And I've got some examples to prove it!

First off, although federal policy may not be deemed "cool," per se, health literacy is definitely blowing up the federal policy mini-feed. Check out this great new article that outlines 3 major federal initiatives that are pushing health literacy forward: 1) Affordable Care Act (aka healthcare reform, aka Obamacare), 2) Department of Health and Human Services' National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy and finally, 3) Plain Writing Act of 2010.

Another indicator of health literacy's coolness factor is this new national social media campaign. The campaign slogan is "R U an Xtreme Teen?" Seriously? With R U and X?!?! You can't tell me that's not cool.  

Ok, seriously now, health literacy REALLY IS blowing up. Both new developments mentioned above, along with Joint Commission standards changing in October 2012 to include standards requiring the use of "effective communication", and all the buzz around improving discharge (that'll be another blog post...or could be an entire blog in itself!), you'll be hearing A LOT more about this health literacy business in 2012.

So hop on the train! Start talking about it, teaching it, blogging, tweeting, status-ing... Even the big shots are endorsing health literacy these days. I heard former Surgeon General Richard Carmona speak at a health literacy summit in Madison, WI where he said, “Health literacy is the currency for success in everything we do. In search of the holy grail for healthcare, we can no longer afford to keep health literacy on the sidelines.”

"I Stand for Literacy"

I STAND FOR LITERACY! This was the battle cry at the United States Conference on Adult Literacy last week. It was a great conference, one in which over 600 instructors, advocates, learners, program managers, and more came together to learn, share new ideas, inspire one another, and push the field of adult literacy ahead. It was inspiring to meet so many passionate individuals, fighters for this great cause!

During the opening ceremony, the conference host, ProLiteracy, asked audience members to share their stories. To share why each one of us stands for literacy. We heard some inspiring stories, some heartbreakingly sad, and some that just seemed obvious. That's where I think my reason for "standing for literacy" fits in, in the obvious category.

A mother's literacy level is the number one predictor of her child's success in school. An individual's health literacy level is the STRONGEST predictor of a person's health status. Twenty percent of the Central Texas population is reading below the 5th grade reading level! It's so obvious why we all need to stand for literacy. Literacy is the best avenue to a healthy, employable, empowered community!

So tell us, why do you stand for literacy? Share your stories with us here, and check out the ProLiteracy website to share your story with them, too!

I Stand for Literacy!

You can also hear other people's stories HERE