Reaching Underserved Populations

Ana M. Macias, MLIS, AHIP, MPH

Kaiser Permanente Northern California

Librarians in the Field

kplibraries.libguides.com/home

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Health Literacy: Two Diverse Populations

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DIXON MIGRANT CENTER

Health Fair Outreach Event

Screenings:

Nutrition Education

Basic Health Services

Health Education

Children’s Educational Resources

MedlinePlus- Hypertension, Diabetes, Cholesterol, Glaucoma

Used with permission from Yolo County Housing Authority

Sacramento Clinic

Dental, Medical and Vision Care

Patients seen: 3,210

Services provided: 13,325

Value of Services: $1,345,774

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* Formerly known as RAM California

Veteran Stand Down Clinic

Patients seen: 226

Services provided: 706

Value of services: $103,065

Used with permission from California Care Force, a California nonprofit organization 501(c)3

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Working Outside the Box

• Population Challenges

– Limited reading ability

– Language barriers

– Lack of insurance

– Homelessness

• Health Literacy

– Diabetes

– Glaucoma

– Hypertension

– Videos

http://www.californiacareforce.org

Used with permission from California Care Force, a California nonprofit organization 501(c)3

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Restoring Vision- Renewing Hope

• Eligibility

– Poor vision due to

cataracts

– No health insurance

– No other means to pay

for cataract surgery

– Limited daily activity

MISSION CATARACTS - USA

Health Information:

Before/After CarePost-operative careFree Community ServicesCataract Surgery Information

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Health Literacy- A national problem

Institute of Medicine…“The degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain,process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.” — Source: Healthy People 2010

1. Patient – Physician Communication

2. Drug labeling, medical instructions, medical compliance

3. Health information publications and other resources

Adults Health Literacy Level

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy.

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Becoming Health Literacy Agents

• Low health literacy= less capable of

caring for themselves

• Knowledge of disease is limited

• IOM 48% adults lack reading/numeracy

skills need to act on health information.

• Functional literacy is starting point

• Lifelong learning for all

• We possess skills set needed

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REFERENCES

1. Blumenthal, J. (2014). Creating the future. J Med Libr Assoc, 102(1), 2-4. doi: 10.3163/1536-5050.102.1.002

2. Cho, Y. I., Lee, S. Y., Arozullah, A. M., & Crittenden, K. S. (2008). Effects of health literacy on health status and health service utilization amongst the elderly. Soc Sci Med, 66(8), 1809-1816. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.01.003

3. Estacio, E. V. (2013). Health literacy and community empowerment: it is more than just reading, writing and counting. J Health Psychol, 18(8), 1056-1068. doi: 10.1177/1359105312470126

4. Medicine, I. o. (2004). Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion. In L. Nielsen-Bohlman, A. M. Panzer & D. A. Kindig (Eds.), Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion. Washington DC: 2004 by the National Academy of Sciences.

5. Nutbeam, D. (2008). The evolving concept of health literacy. Soc Sci Med, 67(12), 2072-2078. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.09.050

6. Wolf, M. S., Gazmararian, J. A., & Baker, D. W. (2007). Health literacy and health risk behaviors among older adults. Am J Prev Med, 32(1), 19-24. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2006.08.024

7. America's Health Literacy: Why We Need Accessible Health Information. An Issue Brief From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2008.