Health Literacy Missouri Summit Highlights
by Megan Rooney — October 01, 2011
Thanks to everyone who attended the Missouri Health Literacy Summit or tuned in through social media yesterday. We left inspired by Dr. Howard Koh and Toni Cordell’s keynote addresses and the health literacy work librarians, trainers, physicians, educators and others are doing across the state.
Here are some highlights:
When Dr. Howard Koh, assistant secretary for health, was a practicing physician, he started visits with his cancer patients by saying, “Tell me your understanding of what you have.” The varied responses he received helped him gauge each patient’s understanding of his or her condition and what he needed to do next.
A documentary produced by Bad Dog Pictures, which aired for the first time yesterday, showed how a Sullivan County health literacy project transformed an entire community. Not only did members start taking better care of their health, but even grocery stores started putting “thumbs up” stickers next to healthier foods.
To get teenage boys to take their acne medication, Dr. Karen Edison used to tell them to put their cream next to their toothbrush as a reminder of when to take them. Then she realized that most teenage boys don’t brush their teeth regularly! This was a good example of knowing your audience and how to communicate effectively to them.
A representative from Nurses for Newborns said her team struggles to get parents information because they don’t want another piece of paper. This organization is considering using cell phones to get them important health information.
A few inspiring quotes that stayed with us:
"Health literacy at its core is an issue of social justice." - Dr. Rima Rudd
“If they said something, we did not question it. Because if I asked a question of a doctor, I was afraid it would come off as me disrespecting their expertise.” - Toni Cordell in an article on KBIA (link: http://www.kbia.org/news/health-reform-targets-health-literacy)
“Are people understanding what they’re hearing, and can they use that information to make health care decisions? We’re just at the beginning of a long journey. We have much work ahead of us.” – Dr. Howard Koh in an article in the Columbia Tribune (http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2011/sep/13/patients-literacy-a-key-factor/)
What were your highlights from the summit?
Watch Dr. Koh’s speech here, and look for an edited version soon: http://www.livestream.com/healthliteracymissouri.