Health Literacy:
Raising awareness
Lindsey Murphy
Senior Knowledge Manager:
Health Literacy
Quality Education for a Healthier Scotland
Overview
• Learning outcomes
– An increased knowledge of what health literacy
is and why it is important
– Increased awareness of the tools and techniques
to support and promote health literacy in
practice
– An awareness of the resources and information
that is available to support you in promoting
health literacy
Quality Education for a Healthier Scotland
What is health
literacy?
“Health literacy is about people having
enough knowledge, understanding, skills
and confidence to use health information, to
be active partners in their care, and to
navigate health and social care systems”
(Making it Easy: national health literacy action
plan, Scottish Government 2014)
Quality Education for a Healthier Scotland
Health Literacy
“The personal characteristics and social
resources needed for individuals and
communities to access, understand,
appraise and use information and
services to make decisions about
health”
(WHO, 2015)
Quality Education for a Healthier Scotland
The Policy Context
• Realising Realistic Medicine (Scottish Gov, 2017)
• Health and Social Care Delivery Plan (Scottish Gov, 2016)
• A National Clinical Strategy for Scotland (Scottish Gov,
2016)
• Chief Medical Officer’s Annual Report ‘Realistic Medicine’
(Scottish Gov, 2016)
• Making it Easy: national health literacy action plan (Scottish
Gov, 2014)
• 2020 Vision (Scottish Gov, 2011)
• The Healthcare Quality Strategy for Scotland (Scottish Gov,
2010)
• Gaun Yersel’ (ALLIANCE, 2011)
• Patients Rights (Scotland) Act 2011
• Health inequalities
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Some facts
Scottish Government Health Literacy Action Plan, 2014
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Impact of poor HL
More likely to experience poor health outcomes
Poorer health and self reported health
Wait until we are sicker before we go to the Dr
Find it harder to access the right services
Find it harder to understand labelling and take
medicine correctly
• Less able to communicate with health staff
• Less likely to engage in health promotion activities
• Difficulty in self management of self and others
•
•
•
•
•
(Making it Easy: national health literacy action plan,
Scottish Government 2014)
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Improving and supporting
health literacy can result in:
• Improved health and health outcomes for
patients
• Better patient and professional relationships
• Improved understanding of medication
information, instruction and adherence
• Reduced risk of serious health problems
resulting from misunderstanding and
communication
• Reduced readmissions and repeat
appointments
• Reduced health inequalities
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Who is at risk?
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Five tips for making it
easy
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•
•
•
•
Teach back
Chunk and check
Use pictures
Use simple language
Routinely ask people if they would like
help
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Teach back
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Teach back cont.
• It is not a test of the patients
knowledge, it is a test of how well you
have explained things
• Plan your approach and how you will
ask people to ‘teach back’
• Clarify and check again if needed
• Practice!
• Use education/information to support
understanding
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Using teach back
I would like to check that I have explained things
properly, would you mind telling me what it is we
have discussed and what we have agreed you will
do?
Can you tell me how you are going to explain
things to your family when you get home tonight?
I want to make sure you have understood, can
you tell me what I’ve asked you to do?
Have you understood everything we have
discussed?
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Chunk and check
Quality Education for a Healthier Scotland
Use pictures/visuals
Quality Education for a Healthier Scotland
Quality Education for a Healthier Scotland
Use simple
language
Quality Education for a Healthier Scotland
Routinely offer help
Quality Education for a Healthier Scotland
Quality Education for a Healthier Scotland
Resources and
information
The Health Literacy Place website is
the national resource for health
literacy information in Scotland:
www.healthliteracyplace.org.uk
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Action after today
• Add health literacy as a subject interest
on People Connect
• Sign up as a ‘health literacy supporter’
• Visit and make use of the website
• Contribute to the website news/blogs/
case studies
• Add us on Twitter @healthlitplace
• Share the learning with others and let
them know about the website and
training
Quality Education for a Healthier Scotland
Contact:
Lindsey Murphy
Senior Knowledge Manager – Health
Literacy
NHS Education for Scotland
Tel: 0141 531 2677
Email: [email protected]
Quality Education for a Healthier Scotland