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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