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The importance of literacy and effective communication skills in healthcare can hardly be underestimated.  Read the abstract that follows from the on the web and then visit some of the other links below:

INADEQUATE FUNCTIONAL HEALTH LITERACY AMONG PATIENTS AT TWO PUBLIC HOSPITALS

Mark V. Williams, David W. Baker, Ruth M. Parker, Wendy Coates, Joanne R. Nurss,Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, and UCLA-Harbor Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, and Georgia State University,Atlanta, Georgia.

Objective: To determine patients' actual ability to complete successfully the basic reading tasks required to function adequately in the health care setting.

Methods: Design: Observational cross-sectional survey.

Setting: Two urban, level I trauma centers.

Patients: A convenience sample of 2,659 predominantly indigent patients, 1,892 English-speaking (ES) and 767 Spanish-speaking (SS), presenting for acute care from November 1993 to April 1994. Exclusion criteria included those under age 18, excessively ill, with inadequate visual acuity, and those who showed lack of cooperation.

Intervention: Measurement of patients' functional health literacy with the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA) or TOFHLA-S (Spanish version) which measures patients' ability to read and understand prose passages (x-ray instructions, Medicaid rights, informed consent) and passages containing numeric information (e.g., prescription bottles, appointment slips).

Results: Many patients were unable to read and understand basic medical instructions such as to take medication on an empty stomach (ES - 24.3% to SS - 58.2%) or to understand when their next appointments are scheduled (ES -31.2%). Inability to understand a standardized informed consent form (ES - 40.7% to SS - 74.5%) was even more common. More than one-third of ES patients (35.7%) and almost two-thirds of SS patients (61.7%) had inadequate or marginal functional health literacy. Low literacy was strikingly more common among those older than 60y, (ES - 74.1% and SS - 73.4%, p < 0.001).

Conclusions: Inadequate functional health literacy is common among patients at institutions, especially the elderly, and may be an important barrier to patients' receiving quality health care.

WHERE - Women for Healthcare Education, Reform and Equity Quickfacts - Health Literacy

plain.word - Communication is an important part of the healthcare profession.  plain.word can teach you the principles of language that can get your message across the first time.

Wordswork - Readability and Medical Writing

Impact of Literacy on Health Care

National Literacy and Health Program

Fact Sheet - Literacy and Health

Understanding Health Instructions: A Matter of Health and Money

To subscribe to the Literacy and Health listserv send an email to listproc@literacy.nifl.gov with the following message:

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