health literacy and our right to information we can understand 21 september 2012 rosemary knight ...
TRANSCRIPT
Health literacy and our right to information we can understand
21 September 2012Rosemary Knightwww.write.co.nz
Health systems and
organisations
Health providers
Patients
Consumers’ Rights
Right 5(1) information you can understand
Right 5(2) an open, honest environment
Right 6(1) information to make a good decision
Literacy – much more thanreading and writing
$$$
Levels 1 and 2 43%
Level 3 38%
Levels 4 and 5 19%
What do we know about the literacy of New Zealanders?
Ministry of Education www.educationcounts.govt.nz
…ability to obtain, process, understand, and use information and services…Institute of Medicine 2004 -- still internationally accepted
…capacity to communicate so that consumers can make informed decisions, and take action to protect and promote their health…http://www.healthnavigator.org.nz/centre-for-clinical-excellence/health-literacy/
…the communication component of healthcare• the person giving information and the person
hearing or reading it understand each other • you can get the healthcare you need, in your
own social context and your own community
+
Why is health literacy important?the personal and economic impact of low health literacy
• poor health outcomes• medication errors• poor decisions• unplanned hospital admissions• missed screening opportunities• costly healthcare – 4x
What do we know about the health literacy of New Zealanders?
1,626,000 adults in NZ (56.2%) have low health literacy
(Workbase/Ministry of Health: Kōrero Mārama 2010)
Health systems and
organisations
Health providers
Patients
What other factors affect health literacy?
• age• culture• disability• emotions
How does health literacy affect people’s lives?
• Fadiman Anne The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
• Gawande Atul Complications, Better, The Checklist Manifesto
• Lanchester John Chapter 19 of Capital
• Osborne Helen Health Literacy from A to Z
Why is health information hard for many people?
• complexity• volume of information• language
– technical language – jargon
What can NZ do about low health literacy?
Health systems and organisation
s
Health provide
rs
Patients
What can a health organisation do to develop the health literacy of its community?
What can patients do to become more health literate?
What can health providers do to support a person’s health literacy?
Some tools to develop the health literacy of all patients
• Use plain language• Ask Me 3TM
• Teach-back
Plain language featuresThink of your listener or reader
Know your purpose
Organise your content
Put your main message up front
Use you and we
Use short sentences
Use everyday, familiar words
Get the tone right
Three approaches to plain language
© Write Limited 2012
Plain language features The first time test
Think of your listener or reader
Know your purpose
Organise your content
Put your main message up front
Use you and we
Use short sentences
Use everyday, familiar words
Get the tone right
The listener/reader can understand your information the first time they hear/read what you say.
Three approaches to plain language
© Write Limited 2012
Plain language features The first time test Feeling/reactionThink of your listener or reader
Know your purpose
Organise your content
Put your main message up front
Use you and we
Use short sentences
Use everyday, familiar words
Get the tone right
The listener or reader can understand your information the first time they hear/read what you say.
The 4 C’s - a sense of:• courtesy• clarity• comfort or ease• connection
Three approaches to plain language
© Write Limited 2012
Having health literacy is not about knowing medical words
What can you do about the words?
• Know who your audience/reader is• Explain a word the patient needs to know,
then you can use it• Replace a medical word the patient doesn’t
need to know with plain English words– download ‘Unravelling Medical Jargon’
free from www.write.co.nz
• What is my main problem?
• What do I need to do?
• Why is it important for me to do this?
Ask Me 3TM
Teach-back
New Zealand articles
• Health Literacy for Nurses, a Position Statement (2010) – NZNO and the College of Nurses Aotearoa, a joint project
• Working to Improve Health Literacy: what’s health literacy and why should nurses know about it? – Jill Clendon in Kai Tiaki, July 2012
• Health Literacy: patient-centred communication is still the answer – Shelley Jones in Nursing Review, due 21 Sept 2012.
You can’t tell by looking – YouTube videohttp://bit.ly/fnM7M2 Real interviews – about 20 minutes
Helen Osborne podcasts and transcriptswww.HealthLiteracyOutloud.com Can listen or print
New Zealand websiteswww.workbase.org.nz www.healthliteracy.org.nz and www.healthnavigator.org.nz
Sandra Fisher-Martins – 15 minute video www.ted.com Put her name in the search box
Nursing Review discount offer pay $36 instead of $54 – tell friends/colleagueshttp://www.nursingreview.co.nz/
• click on subscription tab, top bar• on subscription page, question 2
– at ‘Special Promo Offer’, enter quantity– at ‘Discount Code’ enter PDRP – includes print copy and online access
• access to Reading, Reflection and application in Reality (RRR) – the interactive pdf for the professional development exercise = 45 minutes of contact time
