presentation at the 2018 New England Library Instruction Group (NELIG) Annual Program in Portland, ME

1. “Is chicken a protein?”
Health Literacy and Cultural Effectiveness
for Health Professions Students
Jessica G. Bell
MGH Institute of Health Professions
NELIG Annual Program
June 8, 2018

2. Our LSTA Grant
A Health Literacy Education Model for Maximum Impact
● Occupational Therapy Students
● Building health literacy capacity in students
● Become health literate practitioners

3. OT-651 Occupation, Community & Culture
● Group Video Assignment + Program Design Paper
● 2 hours
● Lecture and Active Learning in small groups
● Research Guides
○ Health Communication:
http://libguides.massgeneral.org/communication
○ Culturally Competent and Effective Healthcare:
http://libguides.massgeneral.org/CultureAndHealth

4. Only 12% of Adult Americans rated a
“proficient” health literacy level
(U.S. Department of Education, 2003)

5. Health Literacy
Low health literacy leads to
● Less use of preventive services
● Lower rates of adherence to treatment
● Lower rates of referral and follow-up
● Higher rates of hospitalization
● Higher health care costs
(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.)

6. Health Literacy
What does health literacy mean for you as a clinician?
The capacity of professionals and institutions to
provide access to information and support the
active engagement of people (IOM, 2004)

7. Universal Precautions
“Assume all patients or clients may have difficulty
comprehending health information and accessing
health services” (AHRQ, 2017)

8. Proposed adapted PEOP model
for health literacy. Adapted
from An Evidence-Based Health
Literacy Training Program for
Occupational Therapy
Professionals: Program
Development and Evaluation (p.
25), by C. Miller-Scott, 2014,
Nova Southeastern University,
retrieved from
http://nsuworks.nova.edu/hpd_
ot_student_dissertations/2/

9. Health Communication
What does Health Communication mean?
Verbal Non-Verbal

10. Plain Language
Clear communication the general public can understand.
● uses everyday language
● explains necessary technical terms
● explains importance of information
● avoids extra information
● engages listeners and readers

11. Plain Language Activity
CDC Website Examples
https://www.cdc.gov/ccindex/pdf/thimerosal-original.pdf
https://www.cdc.gov/ccindex/pdf/thimerosal-updated.pdf

12. Teach-Back Method
Teach-back - What is it?
● Technique to ensure your patient understands
● Asks patients to explain back the directions or information
● Not a test of the patient’s knowledge.

13. Teach-back Method
● Plan your approach.
○ "We’ve covered a lot so far, and I want to make sure that I explained things
clearly. So I’d like to review some of the ideas and actions we talked about.
Can you tell me..."
● Chunk and check.
● Revise and check again.
● Use in combination with printed handouts.
● Practice!

14. Try it!
1. Break into pairs (or triples).
2. Assign one person to be the teacher and other
person (people) to be the learners.
3. Teachers review the handout.
4. Teachers teach learners about subject headings.
5. Teachers and learners engage in teach back method
to ensure understanding.

15. Debrief
● Teachers, what did you find difficult to explain? Easy?
● Did you struggle with any aspect of Teach Back?
● Learners, what worked well?
● What might you do differently?
● What questions do you still have about teach-back?

16. Assessment data
1. One Minute Paper
2. Student surveys
3. Faculty interviews

17. Next Steps
● Refine workshop
● Adapt for other programs
● Curricular model