Improving health outcomes through health literacy and integrative health: The canyon ranch institute life enhancement program

Low health literacy may cause individuals to struggle with adoption and adherence to healthy behaviors that improve or prevent chronic diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease. Results from the Canyon Ranch Institute Life Enhancement Program (CRI LEP), targeted to low-income communities throughout the U.S. demonstrate that an integrative health program based on the best practices of health literacy approach can create statistically and clinically significant improvements in mental and physical health. Through hands-on activities aimed at increasing health literacy, CRI LEP participants across a broad age, race, and ethnicity spectrum at sites in New York, Ohio, Missouri, and Arizona develop measurably higher levels of self-efficacy and sense of empowerment to improve their health. The CRI LEP works within the core principles of the Calgary Charter on Health Literacy and uses evidence-based techniques such as the “teach back” method. Local community partner teams of professionals in integrative health, nutrition, fitness, pharmacy, behavioral health, and spirituality provide 36 hours of community-based participatory and hands-on group sessions, fitness instruction, live cooking demonstrations, social support, a nutritionist-guided grocery store trip, and provide at least four one-hour one-on-one planning consultations per participant. Evaluation from multiple cohorts indicate healthy changes in depression (NY-32%/MO-43%/AZ-45%), in stress (NY-47%/MO-16%/AZ-19%), in systolic blood pressure (NY-7%/MO-4%/AZ-20%); reductions in the number of mentally and physically unhealthy days in the previous month (NY-66%/MO-23%/AZ-35%), and other improvements in behavior and physical and mental health. The most up-to-date data available from five ongoing program sites will be included in this presentation.