141st APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

294952
Health literacy as a social determinant of health


Tuesday, November 5, 2013 : 2:30 p.m. - 2:50 p.m.

James Plumb, MD, MPH, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Sidney Kimmel Medical College - Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA
Health literacy is a serious and escalating public health issue, and recognized as an important social determinant of heath. Nearly half of all American adults—90 million people—have difficulty understanding and acting upon health information. This presentation will provide an overview of health literacy, the scope of the problem, and the impact on population and individual health outcomes; and review the background and development of a comprehensive state-funded health literacy initiative in Philadelphia – SEPA-READS (Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Enhancements Addressing Disconnects in Cardiovascular Health Literacy). SEPA-READS uses the Expanded Chronic Care Model and Triple Aim emphasizing system change, the patient and provider care experience, and improved health outcomes. The project incorporates best practices and chronic disease prevention/management competencies in health literacy training and patient empowerment activities.

Learning Areas:

Advocacy for health and health education
Chronic disease management and prevention
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Program planning
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
Describe the health and economic importance of health literacy. Design an approach to addressing health literacy in Regional Hospital Systems and community sites.

Keyword(s): Literacy, Health Education

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I was trained by the AMA as a health literacy trainer, and have integrated health literacy into Medical School Training, been the PI on multiple grants that use community based approaches to develop and evaluate materials/websites for lower literacy populations, and currently, through state funding, train regional hospital staff in health literacy
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4345.0: Training Health Educators to Serve as Catalysts to Enhance Health Literacy: Changing our Healthcare System and Educating Consumers