Health Literacy in the Real World: Programs and Solutions that Work
Posted on July 16, 2010 by kcarlson | 2 Comments
By Sue Shelly, BSN, MLS, Librarian, Patient and Family Library, Banner Thunderbird Medical Center
Thanks to the MLGSCA professional development fund, I went to the 2010 IHA Health Literacy Conference on May 6-7 in Irvine, California.
The mission of the Institute for Healthcare Advancement (IHA) is Empowering people to better health. This year, the IHA held its ninth professional continuing education conference in health literacy. Visit the IHA webpage for information about the conference, speakers, and their presentations.
The title of this year’s conference was “Health Literacy in the Real World: Programs and Solutions that Work” and the sessions I attended stuck to that theme. Most plenary and breakout sessions speakers work face-to-face with patients and health care staff. These speakers brought the credibility of those who have “been there,” along with evidence-based, pragmatic information. If you read about health literacy, you may recognize the names of some speakers: Michael Villaire, MSLM, David Baker, MD, Darren A. DeWalt, MD, MPH, and several others.
It was exciting to attend poster sessions and talk with people who are addressing the complex issues many of us face. This was a conference of inspiring speakers and participants!
The IHA has a series of excellent “What to do for Health” books, written for a 3rd- to 5th-grade reading level. Everyone who came to the conference received a free copy of each.
I recommend the IHA conference for those who want to integrate health literacy into any part of health care: consent forms, research, verbal communication, writing, teaching patient care staff, integrating social media, and more.
I am grateful to MLGSCA for making it possible for me to attend and participate in this stimulating, valuable conference.
Posted 7/16/10
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2 Responses to “Health Literacy in the Real World: Programs and Solutions that Work”
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July 19th, 2010 @ 11:06 am
Thanks for the summary, Sue. Perhaps you can tell us more at a CABL meeting??
August 3rd, 2010 @ 10:31 am
I’m glad you got the chance to go Sue! I went last year and also found it to be a truly inspiring event. It sparked my sense of social justice. I hope with the new Joint Commission standards of reaching out to patients with low literacy, that there will be more opportunities for hospital librarians to be involved in these issues.