New Directions in Health Literacy

Seventh Annual National Health Communication Conference
Co-Sponsored by the Institute of Medicine
November 19, 2008
National Academy of Sciences Building
2100 C Street NW, Washington, DC

Workshop Objectives

A. Health Literacy: The Intersection Between the Skills of Individuals and the Demands of Health Systems

AM Session: Building Health Literacy Skills
	Describe average literacy skills of the U.S. adult population
	Delineate literacy skills needed for health activities
	Describe health literacy skills building approach (study circles)
PM Session: Reducing Literacy Related Barriers
	Define and describe a "literacy environment"
	Identify literacy skills needed to access and navigate hospital and health care settings
	Identify navigation barriers
	Describe 3 components of a literacy-friendly environment
	Describe ameliorative action

B. System Redesign to Provide Health Literacy Sensitive Clinical Care

	Address health literacy demands of the clinical setting
	Address how to assess your clinical setting
	Provide practical solutions that will improve your practice
	Provide strategies to train your practice team

C. The Impact of Health Literacy on Health Care Quality

	Understand how health literacy relates to healthcare quality
	Learn how to improve healthcare quality by improving health literacy

D. Medication Label Improvement: An Issue at the Intersection of Health Literacy and Patient Safety

	Present the existing evidence about the challenges patients face when reading prescription drug labels
	Present current research initiatives focusing on the effects of improved labeling on medication use
	Discuss existing policy initiatives and potential directions for policy development to improve labeling
	Discuss with stakeholders identifying a path for policy change to implement standards for drug labels

The American College of Physicians Foundation would like to express its
appreciation to the following organizations that are providing support
for the Seventh Annual National Health Communication Conference:

Support for the development and distribution of the
Executive Summary is provided by a grant from: