Health Literacy: A Prescription
to End Confusion
Released in 2004 by the Institute of Medicine (IOM),
this report examines the body of knowledge that applies
to the field of health literacy and recommends actions
to promote a health-literate society.
Available at: www.iom.edu/report.asp?id=19723
Healthy People 2010
Healthy People 2010 is a comprehensive set of
disease prevention and health promotion objectives developed
to improve the health of the nation. Objectives 11-2
and 11-6 specifically address health literacy.
Available at: www.healthypeople.gov/Document/HTML/Volume1/11HealthCom.htm
The Health Literacy of America's
Adults: Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy
(NAAL)
This report is the first release of the NAAL health literacy
results. The results are based on assessment tasks designed
specifically to measure the health literacy of adults living in the
United States. Health literacy was reported using four
performance levels: Below Basic, Basic, Intermediate and Proficient.
Available at:
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2006483
Communicating Health:
Priorities and Strategies for Progress
This publication provides in-depth action plans for each
of the six Healthy People 2010 Health Communication
Objectives, including Objectives 11-2 and 11-6 on health
literacy.
Available at: http://odphp.osophs.dhhs.gov/projects/HealthComm/
Literacy and Health
Outcomes
This report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality (AHRQ) provides a systematic review of the literature
on literacy, its relationship to various health outcomes
and disparities, and the effectiveness of health literacy
interventions.
Available at: www.ahrq.gov/clinic/epcsums/litsum.htm
Bibliography Understanding
Health Literacy and Its Barriers
The National Library of Medicine's (NLM) bibliography
provides a comprehensive list of health literacy citations
from varying disciplines and publications. The bibliography
is divided into specific topic areas.
Available at: www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/cbm/healthliteracybarriers.html
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To learn more about improving the usability of health
information:
Scientific and Technical
Information: Simply Put
This guide from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) will help you translate complicated scientific
and technical information into material that captures
and keeps the interest of your intended audience.
Available at:
http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/simpput.pdf
CDCynergy (CD-ROM)
A multimedia CD-ROM used for planning, managing, and
evaluating public health communication programs. The
planning model is designed to guide the user through
systematically conceptualizing, planning, developing,
testing, implementing, and evaluating health communication
activities, while promoting accountability and the importance
of evaluation.
Available at:
http://www.cdc.gov/healthmarketing/cdcynergy
Making Health Communication
Programs Work (the “Pink Book”)
The planning steps in this guide from the National Cancer
Institute (NCI) can help make any communication program
work, regardless of size, topic, intended audience, or
budget. The Pink Book describes a practical approach
for planning and implementing health communication efforts.
Available at: www.cancer.gov/pinkbook
Plainlanguage.gov
Designed to improve communication from the Federal Government
to the public, this Web site contains excellent tools
and examples of plain language.
Visit http://www.plainlanguage.gov
A Family Physician's
Practical Guide to Culturally Competent Care
This guide, developed by the Office of Minority Health
(OMH), includes cultural competency curriculum modules
designed to equip family physicians with awareness, knowledge,
and skills in cultural competency to better treat the
increasingly diverse U.S. population.
Available at: http://cccm.thinkculturalhealth.org
National Standards for Culturally
and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health Care
OMH has developed comprehensive standards on culturally
and linguistically appropriate services (CLAS) in health
care. The CLAS standards provide definitions of culturally
and linguistically appropriate services and address organizational
structures and policies that help healthcare professionals
respond to cultural and linguistic issues presented by
diverse populations.
Available at: www.omhrc.gov/assets/pdf/checked/finalreport.pdf
Policies for Federal
Public Websites
The Office of Management and Budget issued the Policies
for Federal Public Websites in 2004. The policies
are designed to improve the usability of Federal Web
sites.
Available at:
http://www.usa.gov/webcontent/reqs_bestpractices/omb_policies.shtml
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Usability.gov
A resource for usable, useful, and accessible Web sites.
This site contains information, guidelines, and checklists
for conducting usability testing and user-centered design.
Visit www.usability.gov
To learn more about improving the usability of health
services:
Improving Patient Safety
Through Informed Consent for Patients With Limited Health
Literacy
This report, from the National Quality Forum, is designed
to provide an overview of major issues involved in providing
informed consent for all patients, particularly those
with limited health literacy.
Available at:
http://www.qualityforum.org/pdf/reports/informed_consent.pdf
Understanding Health
Literacy
This comprehensive resource of health literacy research
seeks to improve understanding of this public health
challenge and to stimulate research focused on reducing
or eliminating the literacy barrier to effective medical
diagnosis and treatment. The book includes a chapter
on the literacy demands of healthcare settings.
Citation: Schwartzberg JG, VanGeest JB, Wang CC, Editors.
Understanding Health Literacy. AMA Press. 2005.
To learn more about building knowledge to improve health
decisionmaking:
Consumers in Health
Care: The Burden of Choice
This report by the California HealthCare Foundation presents
the latest research on consumer decisionmaking, explores
the methods consumers use to make choices, and looks
at what influences affect consumer action. The research
suggests important implications for the development of
effective information tools for consumers.
Available at: www.chcf.org/topics/view.cfm?itemid=115327
healthfinder®
healthfinder® is an award-winning Federal Web site
for consumers, developed by the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services and other Federal agencies. Since
1997, healthfinder® has been recognized as a key
resource for finding the best government and nonprofit
health and human services information on the Internet.
healthfinder® links to carefully selected information
and Web sites from more than 1,500 health-related organizations.
Available at: www.healthfinder.gov
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