Hi Everyone,

Many of you have mentioned that you have collaborated between the health
and adult education fields, and I believe that this is an idea that we
should explore, develop and encourage of all organizations dedicated to
health literacy. 

Health professionals are seeing that adult educators have a ready pool
of health consumers, who largely fit into the "underserved" category
that health educators and health outreach professionals are trying to
target. These people are in an environment where they feel safe, are
supported by their classmates, and have a trusted teacher for guidance
and leadership. What better situation could you find to pass on to them
the much-needed health information, skills and knowledge for accessing
and navigating health care services?

And teachers have appreciated that linking with health care
professionals can give their students accurate and complete health
information as well as help in accessing services, and invaluable
practice communicating with health professionals.

This type of partnership is a win-win-win situation. The teachers,
health professionals and learners all benefit. I want to repeat
Winston's request to hear about more partnerships of this type. We
have already heard about some really interesting ones. Who else is doing
some kind of collaboration? 

Have you, as an adult education class linked with health care facilities
to provide support for your instruction? 

Or, as a health organization, have you linked with adult education
facilities to find access to a target population for health outreach?
What has that experience been like?

Any other kinds of collaborating?

And the other big question is: How can the Health Literacy Study
Circles+ help with developing this kind of collaboration? In many ways
they seem like a perfect venue for creating this type of partnership. 

I am eager to hear more!

Julie


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


>>> poledc at slu.edu 06/21/06 1:48 PM >>>

Winston

Regarding the partnerships with Adult Literacy Programs, these have been
discussions and identification of need at this time. The two key
partners
are LIFT Missouri (www.lift-missouri.org) - LIFT receives state funds,
so
there may be a sister agency in your state. They are a statewide agency
that
trains and provides support to teachers of adult literacy programs, the
other is the YMCA who heads up a regional literacy roundtable for
regular
dialogue and collaboration regarding child, family and adult literacy
programs. I recently presented at a conference locally put on by LIFT
and
the Literacy Roundtable and met many in the adult education field

These two partners have identified that their "clients" are asking for
health content beyond what meets the GED requirements.  We have been
discussing how we may support and develop content to meet their needs
and
then do a train-the-trainer session so they can be the link to their
educators.  This was why your Circles+ materials were of such and
interest.
My plan is to have a meeting to discuss helping use or implement this
guide/tool, if they find it effective etc. Possibly set up a pilot
project

David

David Pole, MPH
Deputy Director, AHEC Program Office
Saint Louis University School of Medicine
Deparment of Community and Family Medicine
(P) 314-977-8484
(F) 314-977-5268
poledc at slu.edu
-----Original Message-----
From: healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Winston Lawrence
Sent: Monday, June 19, 2006 3:34 PM
To: The Health and Literacy Discussion List
Subject: [HealthLiteracy 214] Re: Welcome to the discussion: Using
theHealth
Literacy Study Circles+

Hi David: Thanks . It is certainly great to hear of your work in the
Department of Family and Community Medicine. One area that you raised is
that of partnering with community based agencies. You indicated that you
have been involved in linking health providers and literacy agencies.
I'd like to hear some more about this if you can.  In New York City, as
I have worked with adult literacy programs, partnering has been a key
element of the project.  We believe that partnerships provide a
wonderful opportunity for adult literacy students to increase their
health literacy. It allows adult students to become more familiar with
key elements of the  health care system and ultimately enable them to
more readily access  health services. What have your partnerships look
like? Who are the key people that were/are involved. Also, are there
others like David who have been doing similar things?

--------------------------------------------------------------

Support the LAC! When you make a purchase at one of the 25 Borders
Superstores throughout New York State on June 28th, 29th or 30th, 2006,
using the Borders/LAC benefit coupon, Borders will donate 10% of your
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benefit coupon and additional information. Thank you and happy reading! 

--------------------------------------------------------------

Winston Lawrence Ed. D
Senior Professional Deveopment Associate,
Literacy Assistance Center
32 broadway, 10th Floor 
New York, NY 10004
Tel: 212-803-3326
Fax: 212-785-3685
Email: winstonl at lacnyc.org

-----Original Message-----
From: healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of David Pole
Sent: Monday, June 19, 2006 1:10 PM
To: 'The Health and Literacy Discussion List'
Subject: [HealthLiteracy 208] Re: Welcome to the discussion: Using
theHealth Literacy Study Circles+

Thank you very much for your work with HALL. My responsibilities include
academic and community based training in Family Medicine and an AHEC
Program
Office. I have reviewed the Circles + materials and the article in the
Focus
on Basics newsletter.  

We have been engaged with other partners in the region to understand the
issue and determine how to link the health community to the adult
literacy
community and came up with a similar strategy, so we are excited to see
the
"Health Literacy Circles +" resources/model. We have also engaged in
efforts
to train providers in the region on the issue of health literacy to
raise
awareness and are participating in discussion on how to implement a
strategy
for skills based education sessions. We have also included clinical
vignettes in our Family Medicine clerkship with simulated low literacy
patients so the third-year medical students can gain hands-on experience
discussing the issues around literacy in a patient-provider situation.

Do you see the Health Literacy Circles + materials being made available
for
others to pilot?

The Tables in the FOB article provide an excellent organizational
framework
for integrating issues with necessary skills and teachable moments.  Are
these something that we would be able to use as a guide in developing
our
curriculum and community based efforts?

Thank you.

David Pole, MPH
Deputy Director, Division of Community Health Promotion 
Saint Louis University School of Medicine
Deparment of Community and Family Medicine
(P) 314-977-8484
(F) 314-977-5268
poledc at slu.edu


-----Original Message-----
From: healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Julie McKinney
Sent: Monday, June 19, 2006 8:21 AM
To: healthliteracy at nifl.gov
Subject: [HealthLiteracy 204] Welcome to the discussion: Using the
Health
Literacy Study Circles+

Hi Everyone, 

Welcome to our discussion about using the Health Literacy Study
Circles+!

In this message you will find:
   -a welcome to our guests
   -an article to read
   -some discussion questions to think about
   -a description of the study circles

Welcome also to our guest speakers: Winston Lawrence, senior
professional
development associate with the Literacy Assistance Center in New York
City,
and 
Lisa Soricone, a research associate and former fellow at the National
Center
for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL).

Together they piloted these study circles with adult learners in New
York
City, and wrote about their experience through an interview in "Focus on
Basics" (FOB). Please see this article for more information about the
study
circles, and to prepare for this discussion: 

A Conversation with FOB: Learning How to Teach Health Literacy 
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=995

Winston and Lisa will introduce themselves shortly, and in the meantime
we
have some questions for you to think about:

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:

How much health teaching do you do in your program? 

 
What challenges do you experience in teaching health?

 
In an adult literacy setting: 

What has been students? responses to the teaching of health? Do they
think
it adds or detracts from the acquisition of basic skills? 

There are different approaches to teaching health- content versus
skills-based. Which do you prefer and why? What are the advantages or
disadvantages in the different approaches? 


In a health education setting: 

What challenges do you find when teaching health information, medication
instructions, or at-home management of conditions?  

How do you adapt when working with speakers of other languages, or
others
who seem less comfortable with text, charts, tables, etc.? 

What literacy skills do patients need to enhance in order to understand
necessary medical information more clearly? 
***********************************************************************

Please think about these questions, and feel free to send in your
comments
and questions anytime! See below for a description of the study
circles+.

Looking forward to hearing from you all,

Julie

*******************************************************************
 
An overview of the Health Literacy Study Circle+ Series

Many ABE and ESOL practitioners understand the value of teaching health
literacy but they often wonder, how do I go about teaching health
literacy
skills to my students?  The Health and Adult Literacy and Learning
(HALL)
team consists of adult education practitioners and public health
researchers
based at Harvard University.  This group has designed a professional
development program  -- called the Health Literacy Study Circles+ * to
help
ABE and ESOL professionals increase their understanding of health
literacy
skills and incorporate current thinking on health literacy into their
curricula. The Study Circles+ are part of an effort at the National
Center
for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) to bridge research
and
practice.

The Study Circles+ help practitioners understand the kinds of literacy,
math, and oral communication skills that adults need to use the health
care
system and take care of their own and their families' health.  Each
Study
Circle+ focuses on one of three health care topics:

1.	Health Care Access and Navigation
2.	Chronic Disease Management
3.	Disease Prevention and Screening
 	
The HALL team has created a Study Circle+ Facilitator's Guide for each
of
these topics.  Each guide offers step-by-step instructions for carrying
out
the study circle activities.  The guides are intended for use by any ABE
organization or program that seeks to organize a professional
development
opportunity for practitioners with a focus on health literacy skills.

What is a Study Circle+?

A study circle is a forum for in-depth examination of an issue or a set
of
readings. Typically, a group of 10-15 participants come together to
reflect
on new ideas and consider classroom applications with discussions led by
a
facilitator.  Our study circles have an added practice component
(indicated
by the +) because participants are asked to complete practical, hands-on
activities with their students in their classrooms over the course of
the
Study Circle+ sessions.  The Study Circle+ activities encourage
participants
to assess their students' health literacy needs, examine health tasks,
identify underlying skills, and develop original lessons and units that
incorporate health literacy skills into their programs and classrooms. 


 
What do participants do in the Study Circle+?

Each Study Circle+ consists of five sessions.  Here are some highlights
of
the types of discussion topics and activities covered in each session.

Session 1:	Introduction to health literacy
	Introduction to Study Circle topic (access and navigation, 
	   chronic disease management, disease prevention and 
	   screening)
	Plan for the needs assessment of students' health literacy needs
and

        challenges

Session 2: 	Discuss needs assessment results
		Analyze health-care tasks and related basic skills 
	Review sample health literacy lessons that include:
o	ESOL: Examining language barriers in health care
o	ESOL: Filling out health care forms
o	ABE:  Developing problem solving skills
o	GED:  Interpreting bar charts
o	Pre-GED:  How to take your medicine on time
o	ESOL: Talking about symptoms to your doctor
o	ESOL:  Health care every day, every month, every year

Session 3: 	Discuss experiences teaching a health literacy lesson
	Begin development of original lessons

Session 4: 	Share original lessons and begin creating unit plans
	Discuss ways to measure effectiveness of health literacy units
	
Session 5: 	Discuss unit plans and ideas for evaluating unit
effectiveness
		Develop strategies for successfully integrating health 
		   literacy skills into ABE/ESOL programs
		Reflect on the Study Circle+ experience




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

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To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
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----------------------------------------------------
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Health and Literacy mailing list
HealthLiteracy at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
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----------------------------------------------------
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