Health Literacy: Bridging the Gap

Objective:To raise awareness about the issue of health literacy with a particular focus on diabetes. Particpants will discuss clear communication teachniques that can mitigate the communication chasm that limited health literacy creates.

Methods:The presenter will utilize lecture, discussion, video and interactive activities to achieve the learning objectives.

Results:This training session will increase participants' understanding of the impact of health literacy on patients, providers, and the health care system.  Additionally, participants in this training session will be knowledgeable of strategies for improving patient-provider-educator communication.

Conclusion:Health literacy is receiving increasing attention as a significant contributing factor to patient outcomes and health care utilization. Studies have shown that adults with low health literacy are more likely to make medication errors, are less likely to adhere to prescribed treatment and self-care tasks, are more likely to skip preventative screenings, and lack the skills needed to navigate the health care system. The impact of health literacy has been demonstrated in patients with diabetes; Health literacy deficits are strongly associated with poor glycemic control, diabetes complications, and hospitalization. Strategies for improving health literacy include improving the usability of health information that is writen, improving the usability of health services, improving the physical environment in which care is provided, improving cultural and linguistic competency, and improving the communication skills of health care providers. This training session will focus on clear communication strategies such using “living room language”, limiting information, the teach-back technique and effective visual aids that have been demonstrated to mitigate the chasm that limited health literacy creates between patients and providers.