Health Literacy: Statistics At-A-Glance. The Partnership for Clear Health Communication at the National Patient Safety Foundation. Accessed March 21, 2011. http://www.npsf.org/.
This factsheet contains an overview of health literacy statistics in the United States. Published by the National Patient Safety Foundation, it is not an exhaustive description of low health literacy, but it provides a starting point to understand what it is and how many people it impacts.
Health literacy is defined as the ability to read, act, and understand health materials. Low health literacy cuts across all ages, socioeconomic statuses, and ethnicities, although it disporportionately affects minorities and the elderly.
The factsheet points out that medical noncompliance may be linked to low health literacy. About half of all patients don't take their medication as directed, and people with low literacy skills were 50% more likely to be hospitalized. The factsheet also states that the annual healthcare costs for people with low literacy are approximately four times higher than those with higher literacy skills.
This factsheet contains an 8-item bibliography with more information about low literacy and how it affects health care. The articles listed are mostly from well-known medical journals and healthcare organizations. The factsheet also routes the user back to the National Patient Safety Foundation website. This is a well-regarded organization in the American health care industry, so I feel like I can trust the information they publish. This factsheet would make a good supporting document within a bibliography, although it does not describe how to improve the problem of low health literacy.
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Participatory design in health communiction
Neuhauser, Linda. “Participatory Design for Better Interactive Health Communication: A Statewide Model in the USA.” The Electronic Journal of Communucation 11, no 3 and 4(2001). http://www.cios.org/EJCPUBLIC/011/3/01134.html (accessed March 21, 2011).
This journal article describes how families and people with disabilities worked with the state of California to create a hard-copy and online wellness guides. The state identified three primary goals for the health information. It must
-have content relevant for people with diabilities
-connect the user with local services
-be accessible to users with diabilities, 6th grade literacy levels, and those who read Spanish.
The hard-copy materials were developed first, with the websites following 10 years later. The website took 4 years to produce. The state took great care to find a representative sample of end users, including parents in the correctional system. Hundreds of people with diabilities were also involved in the design of the print and online guides, which marked a departure from the previous process. In the past, people with disabilities weren't considered "typical" users of materials, and were excluded from the design process. All too often, content is developed for a specific culture or language, and the organization forgets about the unique needs of people with disabilities, who represent every culture and language possible. It is heartening to see the inclusion of this often-marginalized group in this particular design process.
While the content developed for the state of California aren't as relevant to my research question, this article offers a tremendous amount of information regarding the history of participatory design and why it is an effective way to create information for a specific audience. Neuhauser even states that when people help organizations design health information, it positively impacts their health. Participation increases self-control and self-efficacy. Perceived sense of self-control is noted as a variable that is closely linked to health status. A high sense of self-control is linked with better health.
Neuhauser links participatory design to accessibility, usability and participatory action research. Remote She also provides a long bibliography and a number of related websites that are very helpful for someone seeking to learn more about participatory design and related methods.
This journal article describes how families and people with disabilities worked with the state of California to create a hard-copy and online wellness guides. The state identified three primary goals for the health information. It must
-have content relevant for people with diabilities
-connect the user with local services
-be accessible to users with diabilities, 6th grade literacy levels, and those who read Spanish.
The hard-copy materials were developed first, with the websites following 10 years later. The website took 4 years to produce. The state took great care to find a representative sample of end users, including parents in the correctional system. Hundreds of people with diabilities were also involved in the design of the print and online guides, which marked a departure from the previous process. In the past, people with disabilities weren't considered "typical" users of materials, and were excluded from the design process. All too often, content is developed for a specific culture or language, and the organization forgets about the unique needs of people with disabilities, who represent every culture and language possible. It is heartening to see the inclusion of this often-marginalized group in this particular design process.
While the content developed for the state of California aren't as relevant to my research question, this article offers a tremendous amount of information regarding the history of participatory design and why it is an effective way to create information for a specific audience. Neuhauser even states that when people help organizations design health information, it positively impacts their health. Participation increases self-control and self-efficacy. Perceived sense of self-control is noted as a variable that is closely linked to health status. A high sense of self-control is linked with better health.
Neuhauser links participatory design to accessibility, usability and participatory action research. Remote She also provides a long bibliography and a number of related websites that are very helpful for someone seeking to learn more about participatory design and related methods.
Improving comprehension in patients with low literacy
Ip, Melissa. “Keys to Clear Communication: How to Improve Comprehension Among Patients with Limited Health Literacy.” Today’s Dietician 12, no 5 (May 2010). http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/050310p26.shtml (accessed March 21, 2011).
In this article from Today's Dietician, Melissa Ip describes techniques dieticians and other health professionals can use when communicating concepts to patients. Ip cites an Institute of Medicine Report that found that most consumers of health information don't understand what has been written for them. She also states that nearly 40% of Americans have basic or below basic literacy levels. Minority populations, older adults, and people with a limited income are most at risk of low literacy.
Ip outlines ways to assess a patient's health literacy level, including using the REALM-R (a literacy assessment tool for adults who speak English). She also notes that health literacy is affected by a variety of other factors, including visual literacy, numeracy, computer skills, and visual, audittory, and cognitive factors. Some experts recommend taking a "universal precautions" approach, where the health professional assumes that all patients have trouble understanding health information.
Ip makes an inportant point when addressing health materials translated into a patient's native language. People from different cultures/ethnicities may have limited literacy in their native language. Also, direct translations from English may not be culturally relevant to the end user.
This article provides a laundry list of methods that health professionals can use to better ccommunicate with their patients. It does cover the use of visuals, stating that using pictures in health education materials can increase comprehension and recall. While probably most useful for a health writer or health professional, this article cites many statistics about health literacy, and provides practical methods for creating effective health materials for patients.
In this article from Today's Dietician, Melissa Ip describes techniques dieticians and other health professionals can use when communicating concepts to patients. Ip cites an Institute of Medicine Report that found that most consumers of health information don't understand what has been written for them. She also states that nearly 40% of Americans have basic or below basic literacy levels. Minority populations, older adults, and people with a limited income are most at risk of low literacy.
Ip outlines ways to assess a patient's health literacy level, including using the REALM-R (a literacy assessment tool for adults who speak English). She also notes that health literacy is affected by a variety of other factors, including visual literacy, numeracy, computer skills, and visual, audittory, and cognitive factors. Some experts recommend taking a "universal precautions" approach, where the health professional assumes that all patients have trouble understanding health information.
Ip makes an inportant point when addressing health materials translated into a patient's native language. People from different cultures/ethnicities may have limited literacy in their native language. Also, direct translations from English may not be culturally relevant to the end user.
This article provides a laundry list of methods that health professionals can use to better ccommunicate with their patients. It does cover the use of visuals, stating that using pictures in health education materials can increase comprehension and recall. While probably most useful for a health writer or health professional, this article cites many statistics about health literacy, and provides practical methods for creating effective health materials for patients.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Water Wise
Hennen, Leah. “Water Wise,” Real Simple 7, no. 3 (2006): 147-152.
http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.mnsu.edu. (Accessed February 10th, 2011).
This article is in question-answer format, which makes it easy to navigate. Unlike some of the articles I have found it does not appear to be a huge proponent of tap water, although it does discuss that the US has some of the cleanest water in the world. It suggests that if one does drink bottled water that they drink a brand belonging to the International Bottled Water Association, as they have stricter standards about the water that they provide to consumers. This article focuses mainly on water in general and answers questions such as whether water can go bad, and how much is really needed per day. Under the section header “Is it safe?” Hennen reports that “9 out of 10 public water systems meet federal health and safety standards, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)” (Hennen 1). Hennen also reports that, according to Steven Patch, Ph.D., an authority of drinking water safety at the University of North Carolina, it is suggested that “you read the water-quality report that your utility is required by law to release each year. [As] large providers are also required to post their reports online” (Hennen 1). This also offers a section which explains the differences between what can be labeled mineral water, purified water, spring water, etc., which I expect that I will use. The list is as follows:
• Artesian water: From a welt that's fed by an underground aquifer. Examples: Fiji Natural Artesian Water, Voss Artesian Water.
• Enhanced water: Fortified with vitamins, minerals, and herbal ingredients, as well as added flavor. Example: Glacéau Vitaminwater.
• Fitness water: With added electrolytes and flavoring or sugar. Some contain caffeine or herbal stimulants, such as taurine and guarana. Example: Hansen's E20 Energy Water.
• Mineral water: From an underground source that contains naturally occurring dissolved solids, such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium. Example: Calistoga Sparkling Mineral Water.
• Purified water: Usually tap water that has been treated to remove contaminants. Example: Sam's Choice Purified Drinking Water.
• Sparkling water: With natural or artificial effervescence. Examples: Pure LaCroix Sparkling Water, Schweppes Club Soda.
• Spring water: From an underground source that flows to the earth's surface naturally. Examples: Crystal Geyser Alpine Spring Water, Evian Natural Spring Water.
In general, a lot of the information presented in this source will not be applicable to my research project, except of course the aforementioned tidbits. However, it is very beneficial to have the bottled water “guide” if you will! There are also some other quotes concerning FDA tap water regulations that I expect I will use during the scope of my project.
http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.mnsu.edu. (Accessed February 10th, 2011).
This article is in question-answer format, which makes it easy to navigate. Unlike some of the articles I have found it does not appear to be a huge proponent of tap water, although it does discuss that the US has some of the cleanest water in the world. It suggests that if one does drink bottled water that they drink a brand belonging to the International Bottled Water Association, as they have stricter standards about the water that they provide to consumers. This article focuses mainly on water in general and answers questions such as whether water can go bad, and how much is really needed per day. Under the section header “Is it safe?” Hennen reports that “9 out of 10 public water systems meet federal health and safety standards, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)” (Hennen 1). Hennen also reports that, according to Steven Patch, Ph.D., an authority of drinking water safety at the University of North Carolina, it is suggested that “you read the water-quality report that your utility is required by law to release each year. [As] large providers are also required to post their reports online” (Hennen 1). This also offers a section which explains the differences between what can be labeled mineral water, purified water, spring water, etc., which I expect that I will use. The list is as follows:
• Artesian water: From a welt that's fed by an underground aquifer. Examples: Fiji Natural Artesian Water, Voss Artesian Water.
• Enhanced water: Fortified with vitamins, minerals, and herbal ingredients, as well as added flavor. Example: Glacéau Vitaminwater.
• Fitness water: With added electrolytes and flavoring or sugar. Some contain caffeine or herbal stimulants, such as taurine and guarana. Example: Hansen's E20 Energy Water.
• Mineral water: From an underground source that contains naturally occurring dissolved solids, such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium. Example: Calistoga Sparkling Mineral Water.
• Purified water: Usually tap water that has been treated to remove contaminants. Example: Sam's Choice Purified Drinking Water.
• Sparkling water: With natural or artificial effervescence. Examples: Pure LaCroix Sparkling Water, Schweppes Club Soda.
• Spring water: From an underground source that flows to the earth's surface naturally. Examples: Crystal Geyser Alpine Spring Water, Evian Natural Spring Water.
In general, a lot of the information presented in this source will not be applicable to my research project, except of course the aforementioned tidbits. However, it is very beneficial to have the bottled water “guide” if you will! There are also some other quotes concerning FDA tap water regulations that I expect I will use during the scope of my project.
Heatlh Beliefs About Bottled Water: A Qualitative Study
Ward, Lorna A, Owen L Cain, Ryan A Mullally, Kathyrn S Holliday, Aaron GH Wernham, Paul D Baillie, and Shiela M Greenfield. “Health Beliefs about Bottled Water: A Qualitative Study,” BMC Public Health 9, (2009): 196-204. http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.mnsu.edu. (Accessed February 8th, 2011).
This article gives an overview of a qualitative study conducted by Lorna Ward et al, that consisted of interviewing citizens of the UK about their water usage, and their beliefs about the safety of tap water versus bottled water. This information would be much more compelling if this study had been conducted in the US, where my research will focus; however, in the literature review there is mention of an extensive study performed in the US by the American Waterworks Association (which, to be noted, is a private company) that surveyed 2268 American residents, finding that bottled water drinkers were satisfied with tap water and considered bottled water more of a “luxury item”. I will most likely be using this information, although, unfortunately, I do not intend to use the wealth of information about the bottled water study, as it was performed outside the United States. Given that I have found this article, this may change depending on how the scope of my research pans out in focusing only on the United States.
This article gives an overview of a qualitative study conducted by Lorna Ward et al, that consisted of interviewing citizens of the UK about their water usage, and their beliefs about the safety of tap water versus bottled water. This information would be much more compelling if this study had been conducted in the US, where my research will focus; however, in the literature review there is mention of an extensive study performed in the US by the American Waterworks Association (which, to be noted, is a private company) that surveyed 2268 American residents, finding that bottled water drinkers were satisfied with tap water and considered bottled water more of a “luxury item”. I will most likely be using this information, although, unfortunately, I do not intend to use the wealth of information about the bottled water study, as it was performed outside the United States. Given that I have found this article, this may change depending on how the scope of my research pans out in focusing only on the United States.
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