I will also give more thought to whether there is a succinct factoid that could be distilled for your updated Fact Sheet.  One possible consideration is the dearth of research on orally-delivered health information, which is of concern since television (and radio and other spoken communication) is a major source of health information for many people.  I'm involved in a study that is developing a test of oral health literacy, though it's a few years from completion.  When we wrote the grant, it was clear that this territory has been under-explored. 

Regards,
Sarah Greene 

Sarah M. Greene, MPH 
Research Associate III 
Group Health Center for Health Studies 
greene.sm at ghc.org 
206.287.2989 

This message and any attached files might contain confidential information protected by federal and state law. The information is intended only for the use of the individual(s) or entities originally named as addressees. The improper disclosure of such information may be subject to civil or criminal penalties. If this message reached you in error, please contact the sender and destroy this message. Disclosing, copying, forwarding, or distributing the information by unauthorized individuals or entities is strictly prohibited by law.



-----Original Message-----
From: healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Rima Rudd
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 1:00 PM
To: healthliteracy at nifl.gov
Subject: [HealthLiteracy 2548] Re: Wednesday Question: Looking for CompellingHealth Literacy Facts

Hello...
I will certainly think of my 'favorite' fact but I cannot resist commenting on the one just posted.

It is not correct to state that people cannot do any of the tasks noted. A more appropriate way to say this is "people below level X have difficulty completing this task with accuracy and consistency" .

What is missing from this insight [and it is valuable measure and an important insight] is the critical finding from over 800 published studies that health materials are generally poorly written and designed.

so... this does lead to my favorite assertion taken from the IOM report:

Health literacy is a shared function of social and individual factors. page 4
or
Health literacy is a shared function of cultural, social, and individual factors. Both the causes and the remedies for limited health literacy rest with our cultural and social framework, the health and education system that serve it, and the interactions between these factors. page 32


in addition:
The cost research is not firmly established nor uniformly accepted. It is not possible, for example, to differentiate between costs due to medical errors [errors made by professionals] and costs due to literacy related errors [errors made by patients]. I am very disquieted by the assumption that costs are due to patient error or to patient deficits.

Rima

Rima E. Rudd, ScD, MSPH
Department of Society, Human Development & Health
Harvard School of Public Health
677 Huntington Avenue
Boston MA 02115
Phone: 617 432 1135
fax:     617 432 3123
web:    www.hsph.harvard.edu/healthliteracy
www.hsph.harvard.edu/sisterstogether
----------------------------------------------------
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 greene.sm at ghc.org