Hello, everyone, 

I've been a health literacy consultant since 1994 and have learned  a great deal from looking at the ways organizations communicate with patients. And I'm now in a PhD program where I'm looking at health communication processes, where things typically break down, and ways to repair the results of a breakdown. 

As I think about finding people who can serve as intermediaries, I am attracted to the idea of using volunteers for obvious cost-saving reasons. But I also wonder if there might be liability issues in having volunteers helping people with chronic illnesses. I see a real need for this kind of help in many situations. But what if a volunteer unintentionally gave wrong information about blood pressure guidelines, for example, because she didn't know the guidelines had changed in past years. Might that be considered potentially dangerous? Could the volunteer be held responsible? I have always thought we'd need to use nurses with special health communication training in this role for patient safety and quality concerns. What do others think? 

Audrey Riffenburgh, M.A., President
Plain Language Works (formerly Riffenburgh & Associates)
Specialists in Health Literacy & Plain Language since 1994
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA 
Phone: (505) 345-1107   E-mail: ar at plainlanguageworks.com
Founding Member, The Clear Language Group, www.clearlanguagegroup.com
Co-founder, Health Literacy Institute, www.healthliteracyinstitute.net
Ph.D. Student in Health Communication, Univ. of New Mexico

---- Original Message ----- 
  From: Davies, Nicola 
  To: The Health and Literacy Discussion List 
  Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2008 9:05 AM
  Subject: [HealthLiteracy 1627] Re: Wednesday Question: Reflection


  We are currently navigating the tricky waters of recruitment for the Wellness Centre. We have offered the centre as a wonderful opportunity for nursing students to gain valuable volunteer hours.
  -----Original Message-----
  From: healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Cheryl Pasternack
  Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2007 8:14 AM
  To: healthliteracy at nifl.gov
  Subject: [HealthLiteracy 1610] Re: Wednesday Question: Reflection


  Does anyone have ideas for recruitment of volunteers for our health literacy program?   We are looking for individuals who are willing to make a long-term commitment to work with our low health literacy patients, helping them to manage their chronic illnesses.

  Cheryl Pasternack, CHES
  Director, Grants Management
  Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center
  234 E. 149th  Street, Room 4C-162
  Bronx, NY  10451
  Phone: (718) 579-5697
  Fax:      (718) 579-4602
  Email:   Cheryl.Pasternack at nychhc.org 




  >>> "Julie McKinney" <julie_mcKinney at worlded.org> 12/19/2007 2:09 PM >>>
  Hi Everyone,

  Thanks for bringing up Photonovels! We're working on a guest discussion about using photonovels for health literacy to be scheduled in the next couple months.

  For today's question, I want to ask you to reflect on how the list has served as a professional development tool for you and your colleagues over the past few months. And please also share any suggestions you have on questions we should address, and guest discussions to plan.

  (I'll do this every few months so we can keep thinking about how this list can be most helpful to all of us! I'm always open to any suggestions.)

  Cheers and a happy solstice to all!

  Julie

  Julie McKinney
  Discussion List Moderator
  World Education/NCSALL
  jmckinney at worlded.org

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