I love Anne's comment 
"we refer to people who need plain and accurate health information"--
Isn't this all of us when we become patients? I think so.



Linda Johnston Lloyd, Senior Advisor ~HRSA Center for Quality ~ Room
7-100 5600 Fishers Lane ~ Rockville, MD 20857
p: 301-443-0831~ f: 301-443-9795 ljohnston-lloyd at hrsa.gov ~ www.hrsa.gov



-----Original Message-----
From: Anne Murr [mailto:anne.murr at DRAKE.EDU] 
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2008 5:11 PM
To: healthliteracy at nifl.gov
Subject: [HealthLiteracy 1939] Re: System emphasis instead of
patientemphasis

I would like to suggest a systems' shift in attitude toward persons with
low literacy.  The word "stigma" connotes that those with "knowledge"
are looking down on those without knowledge.  I have worked with and
learned to respect the knowledge about life that adult new readers
possess.  In the realm of multiple intelligences, they have many gifts.

Here's a real incident a friend recently shared with me.  Before her
daughter, a college graduate, had her first baby, she planned every
detail, including hiring a personal assistant to be with her during part
of the delivery and to transition the first weeks with baby at home.  An
unplanned event was her persistent mastitis which made life 
miserable for everyone!   She exclaimed in despair, "I thought we had 
everything taken care of!  What do the dumb people do?"

Well, the quote-unquote "uneducated" people take life as it comes and
have the wisdom to handle life's curve balls.  [Adult new readers do not
allow the word 'dumb' to be used about anyone.]

Health care professionals have the responsibility to communicate clearly
the information that we lay people need to manage our own health.  They
need to be able to"process" their knowledge into plain language.  One
systems shift that health care (and society) needs to make is the
realization that all persons possess the wisdom to manage their own
health....when they are given the information they need.

Perhaps, instead of referring to people with low health literacy, we
refer to people who need plain and accurate health information.

Anne Murr, M.S., Coordinator
Drake University Adult Literacy Center
School of Education
3206 University Ave.
Des Moines, IA 50311
anne.murr at drake.edu
   Tel    515-271-3982
   Fax   515-271-4544
The MISSION OF THE ADULT LITERACY CENTER IS TO IMPROVE LITERACY,
   resulting in enhanced self-esteem, daily living, and lifelong
learning.


>Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2008 12:44:09 -0700

>From: Audrey Riffenburgh <ar at plainlanguageworks.com>

>Subject: [HealthLiteracy 1932]  System emphasis instead of patient 

>emphasis

>Sender: healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov

>To: The Health and Literacy Discussion List <healthliteracy at nifl.gov>

>

>Dear William,

>

>I wanted to cheer when I read your e-mail. I really like the definition



>you say you'd use now for health literacy. After the NAAL results 

>showed that only 12% of US adults are health literate enough to meet 

>the definition for "proficient," a major shift to looking at systems 

>instead of individuals is in order!

>

>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: 

><mailto:ar at plainlanguageworks.com>ar at plainlanguageworks.com

>

>Founding Member, The Clear Language Group, 

><http://www.clearlanguagegroup.com>www.clearlanguagegroup.com

>Co-founder, Health Literacy Institute, 

><http://www.healthliteracyinstitute.net>www.healthliteracyinstitute.net

>Ph.D. Student in Health Communication, Univ. of New Mexico

>

>

>

>----- Original Message -----

>From: <mailto:BSMITH at aed.org>William Smith

>To: <mailto:healthliteracy at nifl.gov>The Health and Literacy Discussion 

>List

>Sent: Monday, April 21, 2008 5:33 AM

>Subject: [HealthLiteracy 1927] Re: Terminology, Labelling and Naming

>

>Low health literacy carries a stigma only if you do not fully 

>understand the IOM definition - which says"

>

>"the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, 

>and understand basic health information and services needed to make 

>appropriate health decisions."

>

>Patients are not the only individuals in the health system. 

>Physicians are individuals, as are nurses, pharmacists, hospital 

>administrators and policy makers.  It is not just the patients who has 

>to obtain, process, and understand.  That is precisely what's wrong 

>with the present system.  The patient has to do it all.

>

>I will admit that if I were writing the definition again I would add 

>..."the degree to which individuals, organizations and systems have the



>capacity to obtain, process, understand and communicate basic health 

>information........  ."

>

>Health literacy is not the function of individual patients or

>citizens- but of the systems that serve all of us.

>The simplest and perhaps most powerful question you can ask yourself

>is:  "Am I a member of a health literate organization."

>

>Wm. Smith

>Executive Vice President

>Academy for Educational Development

>1825 Connecticut Ave., NW

>Washington, D.C. 20009

>

>Organize policy until self-interest

>does what justice requires.

>Phone: 202-884-8750

>Fax: 202-884-8752

>e-mail: bsmith at aed.org

>

>>>>  "Johnston-Lloyd, Linda (HRSA)" <LJohnston-Lloyd at hrsa.gov>

>>>>4/17/2008 3:24 PM >>>

>

>Nicola,

>I agree with you as I feel low literacy may denote a stigma to some 

>people.

>

>In the HRSA Unified Health Communication course, we agreed to use 

>"limited heath literacy" it may be limited by worry about your care or 

>diagnosis or inability to understand the words or stress with a visit 

>to the doctor where you have received bad news, etc. any number of 

>reasons can affect one's literacy at a given time.

><http://www.hrsa.gov/healthliteracy/training.htm>http://www.hrsa.gov/he

>althliteracy/training.htm

>

>

>Linda Johnston Lloyd, HRSA Health Literacy Coordinator ~HRSA Center for



>Quality ~ Room 7-100 5600 Fishers Lane ~ Rockville, MD 20857

>p: 301-443-0831~ f: 301-443-9795 ljohnston-lloyd at hrsa.gov ~ 

>www.hrsa.gov

>

>

>

>-----Original Message-----

>From: Davies, Nicola [mailto:NDavies at dthr.ab.ca]

>Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 1:19 PM

>To: The Health and Literacy Discussion List

>Subject: [HealthLiteracy 1920] Re: Terminology, Labelling and Naming

>

>I have a question for the list - just an informal survey.

>

>How do you feel about referring to the people we tailor materials for 

>as "low literate" or "low health literate"? I have read lots of 

>excellent opinion pieces on naming of people with tangible diseases; 

>e.g., "people with diabetes" rather than "diabetics". However, using 

>the phrase "people who have low literacy" or "People with low health 

>literacy" just doesn't ring fair, simply because we have already 

>established that literacy is not a personal issue, but rather a social 

>one, and cannot be owned wholly by the individual we are referring to.

>So, how do you refer to the people we are ultimately working for?

>

>I am looking forward to seeing what you all think.

>

>Regards,

>Nicola

>

>Nicola Davies, BA

>Health Literacy Specialist

>Wellness Centre Coordinator

>Consumer Health Information Technician

>ndavies at dthr.ab.ca

>(403) 352-7643

>Red Deer Regional Hospital

>         3942-50A Ave

>         Red Deer, AB

>         T4N 4E7

>

>

>

>----------------------------------------------------

>National Institute for Literacy

>Health and Literacy mailing list

>HealthLiteracy at nifl.gov

>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 

>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/healthliteracy

>Email delivered to anne.murr at drake.edu



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