Fact Sheets

America’s Health Literacy: Why We Need Accessible Health Information
http://www.health.gov/communication/literacy/issuebrief/

Health Literacy and Health Outcomes
http://www.health.gov/communication/literacy/quickguide/factsliteracy.htm

CHCS. Center for Health Care Strategies, Inc.
A series of nine fact sheets created for those who are designing patient education materials for consumers with low literacy skills
http://chcs.org/publications3960/publications_show.htm?doc_id=291711

Tools

Ask Me 3

A quick, effective tool designed to improve health communication between patients and providers. It promotes three simple but essential questions that patients should ask their providers in every health care interaction:

• What is my main problem?
• What do I need to do?
• Why is it important for me to do this?

Teach-back

A method of asking patients to say, in their own words, information they've just heard from you to ensure they understand the information provided.

Newest Vital Sign

A way of determining your patient�s literacy level by using a food label
Communication Tools can be ordered from Printing and Copying Services or printed (PDF).

More Than Words Toolkit

This introductory guide offers general advice for health care organizations on the overall translation process.

Plain Language Thesaurus

Links

AHRQ Program Brief
This Program Brief summarizes both research findings and research in progress.
http://www.ahrq.gov/research/healthlit.htm

AMA Foundation
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/8115.html

Assessing the nation’s health literacy: Key concepts and findings of the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL)
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/367/hl_report_2008.pdf

Health Literacy & Plain Language Resource Guide
http://www.healthliteracyinnovations.com/information/RGdownload (you will need to register to download this free resource)

Health Literacy Studies. Harvard School of Public Health
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/healthliteracy/

HRSA Health Literacy
http://www.hrsa.gov/healthliteracy/

National Institute for Literacy
http://www.nifl.gov/

National Network of Libraries of Medicine
http://nnlm.gov/outreach/consumer/hlthlit.html

Pfizer Clear Health Communication
http://www.pfizerhealthliteracy.com/

“What did the doctor say?” – Improving Health Literacy to Protect Patient Safety. The Joint Commission. 2007
http://www.jointcommission.org/NR/rdonlyres/D5248B2E-E7E6-4121-8874-99C7B4888301/0/improving_health_literacy.pdf

Bibliography

Dewalt, D.A., Berkman, N.D., Sheridan, S., Lohr, K.N., & Pignone, M.P. (2004).
“Literacy and Health outcomes: A systematic review of the literature.”
Journal of General and Internal Medicine: Official Journal of the Society for Research and Education in Primary Care Internal Medicine, 19(12), 1228-1239.

Joint Commission Resources, Inc., & Alvin & Nancy Baird Library Fund. (2006).
Patients as partners: how to involve patients and families in their own care.
Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.: Joint Commission Resources.

Literacy and health outcomes. (2004).
Rockville, MD:The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Retrieved from: http://www.ahrq.gov/downloads/pub/evidence/pdf/literacy/literacy.pdf

Nielsen-Bohlman, L., Panzer, A.M. (2004).
Health literacy: a prescription to end confusion.
Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10883#toc.

Osborne, H., & Ralph Erskine Conrad Memorial Fund. (2005).
Health Literacy from A to Z: Practical ways to communicate your health message.
Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

Rothman, R.L, Montori, V.M., Cherrington, A., & Pignone, M.P. (2008).
“Perspective: The role of numeracy in health care.”
Journal of Health Communication, 13(6), 583-595

Schwartzberg, J.G., VanGeest, J., & Wang, C. (2005).
Understanding health literacy: Implications for medicine and public health.
Chicago: IL: American Medical Association.

Weiss, B.D., Mays, Martz, W., Castro, K.M., DeWalt, D.A., Pignone, M.P., et al. (2005).
“Quick assessment of literacy in primary care: the newest vital sign.”
Annals of Family Medicine, 3(6), 514-522.