Selected Health Literacy References & Resources

Articles & Reports

Ad Hoc Committee on Health Literacy for the Council on Scientific Affairs, American Medical Association. Health Literacy: Report of the Council on Scientific Affairs. JAMA 1999;281:552-557.

American Medical Association Foundation and American Medical Association. Health Literacy and Patient Safety: Help Patients Understand. Removing Barriers to Better, Safer Care. Reducing the Risk by Designing a Safer, Shame-Free Health Care Environment. August 2007.

Berkman ND, DeWalt DA, Pignone MP, et al. Literacy and Health Outcomes. Evidence Report/Technology Assessment No. 87 (Prepared by RTI International—University of North Carolina Evidence-based PracticeCenter). AHRQ Publication No. 04-E007-2. Rockville, MD. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. January 2004.

Institute of Medicine Committee on Health Literacy. Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion. The National Academies Press. Washington, D.C. 2004.

Institute of Medicine Committee on Quality of Health Care in America. Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century. The National Academies Press. Washington, D.C. 2001.

Institute of Medicine Committee on Understanding and Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care. Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care. The National Academies Press. Washington, D.C. 2003.

Institute of Medicine Committee on Identifying Priority Areas for Quality Improvement. Priority Areas for National Action: Transforming Health Care Quality. The National Academies Press. Washington, D.C. 2003.

The Joint Commission. “What Did the Doctor Say?:” Improving Health Literacy to Protect Patient Safety. 2007.

Kutner, M., Greenberg, E., Jin, Y., and Paulsen, C. (2006) The Health of America’s Adults: Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NCES 2006-483). US Department of Education. Washington, DC: NationalCenter for Education Statistics.

Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L; Health Literacy from A to Z: Practical Ways to Communicate Your Health Message. Jones & Bartlett; Sudbury, MA;2004.

Parker RM, Ratzan SC, Lurie N. Health Literacy: A Policy Challenge for Advancing High-Quality Health Care. Health Affairs 2003;22:147-153.

Schillinger D, Grumbach K, Piette J, et al. Association of health literacy with diabetes outcomes. JAMA 2002;288:475-482.

Schillinger, D et al. Closing the Loop Physician Communication w/ Diabetic Patients who have low health literacy. Arch Intern Med 2003;163:83-90.

Schwartzberg, VanGeest, Wang. eds. Understanding Health Literacy: Implications for medicine and public health. Chicago, IL. AMA Press; 2005.

US Department of Health and Human Services. Communicating Health: Priorities and Strategies for Progress. Washington, DC, July 2003.

Weiss Barry D. Health Literacy and Patient Safety: manual for clinicians. Second edition. American Medical Association Foundation and American Medical Association. Chicago 2007.

An Ethical Force Program Consensus Report. Improving Communication—Improving Care. How health care organizations can ensure effective, patient-centered communication with people from diverse populations. American Medical Association. 2006

Promising Practices for Patient-Centered Communication with Vulnerable Populations: Examples from Eight Hospitals. Matthew Wynia and Jennifer Matiasek. Institute for Ethics, American Medical Association. August 2006

Links

IOM Health Literacy report:

Health Literacy (NAAL) Data:

Health Literacy (NAAL Health Literacy Report): The Health Literacy of America’s Adults: Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy. September 2006. NationalCenter for Education Statistics.

Local Literacy Data Estimates:

AMA Health Literacy Materials:

Health Literacy Studies; Harvard School of Public Health -

Pfizer Health Literacy Initiative:

Ask Me 3

National Patient Safety Foundation:

Navigation

Rudd RE, Anderson JE. The Health Literacy Environment of Hospitals and HealthCenters. Partners for Action: Making Your Healthcare Facility Literacy-Friendly. NationalCenter for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy and Health and Adult Literacy and Learning Initiative, HarvardSchool of Public Health. 2006. or

Reader-Friendly Print Materials

Clear Language Group:

Plain Language Association International:

"The Health Literacy Style Manual" - prepared for the RWJ program, Covering Kids and Families, by Maximus--a resource for developing and improving applications, notices, andother print materials; includes examples fromreal programs and can be used to make materials more client-centered; can bedownloadedat this website:

Clear & Simple: Developing Effective Print Materials for Low Literate Readers. National Cancer Institute.

Lay Language and Terms. Centers for Disease Control.

on-line SMOG at literacyin.com/SMOG.htm.

Abrams MA, Dreyer BP. Editor and contributing author. AmericanAcademy of Pediatrics Plain Language Pediatric Patient Education: Handouts for Common Pediatric Topics. AmericanAcademy of Pediatrics. Elk Grove Village, IL. 2008/

The US Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) - link fortheir health literacy website which contains free and easy-to-read healthbrochures and information in various languages:

University of North Carolina:

Chronic disease management:

Managing Your Health With Heart Failure -

Partnering with Adult Learners

•Archie Willard home page:

•VALUE:

•ProLiteracy Worldwide:

•World Education:

  • link to a chapter in "Family Health and Literacy" about collaborating between literacy and health programs:

•National Institute for Literacy:

•Health Literacy (NALS) Data

To find adult literacy programs in your area: Type in your zip code or city.

Reach Out and Read:

Institute for Healthcare Improvement: Models for Collaboration, Improvement and Spread -

Consent

Shortcut to AMA video clip on uniformed consent:

National Quality Forum. Safe Practices for Better Healthcare 2006 Update. Washington, DC: National Quality Forum; 2007.

The LeapfrogGroupHospital Quality and Safety Survey. Accessed at August 30, 2007.

Proceedings of 2005 White House Conference on Aging, Mini-Conference on Health Literacy and Health Disparities. American Medical Association, 2005. Accessed at August 30, 2007.

Abrams MA, Earles B. Developing an Informed Consent Process with Patient Understanding in Mind. NC Med J 2007; 68:352-355.

Baum, N. Comprehension is key. Patient Safety and Quality Healthcare. Patient Safety and Quality Healthcare. May/June 2006:34-38.

National Quality Forum. Improving Patient Safety Through Informed Consent for Patients with Limited

Health Literacy. More information available at:

reports/informed_consent.asp

The 2005 White House Conference on Aging, Mini-Conference on Health Literacy and Health Disparities.

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