Do We Know Health?

English 102iMike Allan

What is Health Literacy?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39A9oU-g

OOAObtain, process, and understandAbout 90 million Americans do not meet

standardReading labels is major issueConsequences affect

personal health

Why Is It Important?Abilities:

Navigate the healthcare systemShare personal and health information with

providersEngage in self-care and disease managementAdopt health-promoting behaviorsAct on health-related news

Impact:Health outcomesHealthcare costs Quality of care

Question to Be Explored:Through what medium can we communicate health literacy to the general public?

Community SignificanceMajority study

natural sciencesPersona of university

Debate-oriented culture on campus

Learning outside the classroom

Political implications

Addition to the DiscussionResearch plan:Contrast with select

group of population with higher education

Evaluate effectiveness of certain sources

Make conclusions about how information can be communicated

MethodsQuiz and gauge of

interestProfessional

businessmenSurvey:

14 knowledge-based questions

1 question gauging willingness to learn from sources

Via emailPersonal info:

Age and genderPolitical affiliationLevel of educationHealth care

provider

# of Answers Correct

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 410

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

# answers correct

Subjects’ Sources

pol party professors fellow coworkers TV online family0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Willingness for Sources

online clipnewspaperdaily showCNNpol speechprofessorhealth worker

InterpretationHigher proficiency level than averageEach political party showed equal scores

No apparent strong ties to any partySigns of political bias in TV shows

Some questions beyond undergraduate levelWebMD and Daily Show most popular

Where We Go From HereLectures must be given

by people trustedHealth workers, not

politiciansMedia grabs the most

attentionPromote credible

websites, i.e. WebMDPublic service

announcementsReach the families

Direct source of information

DiscrepanciesLack of a controlAbility to research

answersUnequal

representation of gender and political parties

Limit of options

Works Cited Parikh NS, et al. “Shame and Health Literacy: The Unspoken

Connection.” Patient Education and Counseling, 1996; 27. ↑ (Parikh 1996)

Hopper KD, et al. “The Readability of Currently Used Surgical/Procedure Consent Forms in the United States.” Surgery, 1998; 123. ↑ (Hopper 1998)

Williams-Deane M and Potter LS. “Current Oral Contraceptive Use Instructions: An Analysis of Patient Package Inserts.” Family Planning Perspectives, 1992; 24. ↑ (Williams-Deane 1992)

Baker DW, et al. “The Relationship of Patient Reading Ability to Self-Reported Health and Use of Health Services.” American Journal of Public Health, 1997; 87. ↑ (Baker 1997)

Williams MV, et al. “Inadequate Functional Health Literacy among Patients at Two Public Hospitals.” Journal of the American Medical Association, 1995; 274.↑ (Williams 1995)

Williams MV, et al. “Inadequate Literacy is a Barrier to Asthma Knowledge and Self-Care.” Chest, 1998; 114. ↑ (Williams 1998)