Abstract
Session presented on Saturday, April 9, 2016, and Friday, April 8, 2016:
Patients with limited health literacy are more likely to have poorer health outcomes, higher emergency room use and hospitalization rates, and greater morbidity and mortality rates than those with adequate literacy levels (Berkman et al., 2011). The risks to health and well-being, the influences on morbidity and mortality markers and economic impact for patients, communities and health systems argue for robust preparation of health providers, including nurses, in evidence-based health literacy competencies. These competencies include promoting shame-free and culturally-sensitive environments, incorporating plain language written and verbal guidelines and consistently verifying patient understanding through teach back techniques as part of a Universal Health Literacy Precautions approach to be used throughout all levels of the health care system (Berkman et al., 2011). The National Health Literacy Action Plan (DHHS/ODPHP, 2010) calls for all health providers to learn and develop these health literacy competencies to promote safe and effective patient interactions. Health literacy has been defined as “…the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make health decisions” (Nielsen-Bohlman, Panzer, & Kindig, 2004, p. 31-32). This definition has been used to guide past health literacy research, but may not account for the use of health information outside of formal health care settings, or fully explain how people use this knowledge to reach informed decisions or apply this knowledge to promote their health and well-being. Early health literacy research in the US emphasized patient literacy screenings and intervening for those with low or limited literacy levels. The majority of interventions used in this functional approach focused on written health literacy measures and patient abilities to read text.
Sigma Membership
Nu Phi
Lead Author Affiliation
Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, Tennessee, USA
Type
Poster
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
N/A
Research Approach
N/A
Keywords:
Health Literacy, Universal Health Literacy Precautions, ACTS
Recommended Citation
French, Kempa (Kim), "Assessing health literacy competencies: A randomized pilot comparing two teaching approaches at BSN level" (2016). NERC (Nursing Education Research Conference). 37.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/nerc/2016/posters_2016/37
Conference Name
Nursing Education Research Conference 2016
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International,National League for Nursing
Conference Location
Washington, DC, USA
Conference Year
2016
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.
All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Assessing health literacy competencies: A randomized pilot comparing two teaching approaches at BSN level
Washington, DC, USA
Session presented on Saturday, April 9, 2016, and Friday, April 8, 2016:
Patients with limited health literacy are more likely to have poorer health outcomes, higher emergency room use and hospitalization rates, and greater morbidity and mortality rates than those with adequate literacy levels (Berkman et al., 2011). The risks to health and well-being, the influences on morbidity and mortality markers and economic impact for patients, communities and health systems argue for robust preparation of health providers, including nurses, in evidence-based health literacy competencies. These competencies include promoting shame-free and culturally-sensitive environments, incorporating plain language written and verbal guidelines and consistently verifying patient understanding through teach back techniques as part of a Universal Health Literacy Precautions approach to be used throughout all levels of the health care system (Berkman et al., 2011). The National Health Literacy Action Plan (DHHS/ODPHP, 2010) calls for all health providers to learn and develop these health literacy competencies to promote safe and effective patient interactions. Health literacy has been defined as “…the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make health decisions” (Nielsen-Bohlman, Panzer, & Kindig, 2004, p. 31-32). This definition has been used to guide past health literacy research, but may not account for the use of health information outside of formal health care settings, or fully explain how people use this knowledge to reach informed decisions or apply this knowledge to promote their health and well-being. Early health literacy research in the US emphasized patient literacy screenings and intervening for those with low or limited literacy levels. The majority of interventions used in this functional approach focused on written health literacy measures and patient abilities to read text.