ACP Foundation Health Literacy Awards
for ACP Chapters

The ACP Foundation has established a Health Literacy Awards Program for ACP Chapters to increase awareness of health literacy and the Foundation at the chapter level. Five $10,000 grants will be available to ACP Chapters during 2009-2010. The awards will be made in two installments: $5,000 at the start of the project and an additional $5,000 when the Chapter fulfills all of the project goals, anticipated outcomes and a final report is received. A completed grant application and budget are required for the project to be reviewed.

Download Grant Application and Budget

The deadline for proposals to be received by the ACP Foundation is September 15, 2009. Proposals are to be submitted via email to foundation@acponline.org. All proposals should be in Microsoft Word. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Stacey Dailey at 215-351-2809 or sdailey@acponline.org.

Focus of Health Literacy Awards Grants

The Health Literacy Awards Subcommittee has made the following recommendations to be used as a guide for the focus of the health literacy award grants:

1.	Develop health literate messaging for patients to improve their understanding of how to:
		Take medications correctly
		Prepare for an office visit
		Self-manage chronic disease
		Get ready for Medicare

2.	Develop patient-centered health literate materials for practices to use with patients:
		Redesign forms given to patients in a physician office
		Redesign of the waiting room and exam rooms into patient education centers

3.	Community programs to increase awareness of health literacy and utilize action

2008 ACP Foundation Health Literacy Awards for ACP Chapters Recipients

The following Chapters are the first recipients of the ACP Foundation Health Literacy Awards Program for ACP Chapters:

1.	Delaware ACP Chapter — *Your Medicine Has Two Names*
	Delaware ACP Chapter Governor and Primary Investigator — John H. O'Neill, Jr., DO, FACP

2.	Colorado ACP Chapter — A Medical Home-Based Low Literacy Tool to Improve Informed Decision-Making in Prostate Cancer Screening
	Colorado ACP Chapter Governor — Frederic B. Walker, IV, MD, FACP
	Primary Investigator — Thomas Denberg, MD, PhD, FACP

3.	Northern Illinois ACP Chapter — The Chicago BREATHE Project
	Northern Illinois ACP Chapter Governor — James J. Foody, MD, FACP
	Primary Investigator — Vineet Arora, MD, MAPP, FACP

Click here to learn more about the ACP Foundation programs.

Health literacy, according to the Institute of Medicine, is defined as "the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions." Nearly half of all American adults, 90 million people, have difficulty understanding and acting upon health information (Institute of Medicine: A Prescription to End Confusion). Many of these people include recent immigrants, non-English speaking adults, the poor, and the elderly.