Transcript Increasing Oral Health Literacy

The Challenge: Oral Health
Literacy
ANITA LATOURETTE, RDH
GDHA HOT TOPICS/ANNUAL SESSION
10/13/2012
Have you ever…
 Had a misunderstanding with a patient about a
procedure?
 Had a patient call to clarify care instructions after an
appointment?
 Had a patient whom from your perspective ignored
your recommendations for her oral health or her
child’s?
Oral health is a product of:
 Appropriate self care or care giver assistance
 Clinical care
 Community initiatives
To navigate the system, patients must:
a. understand preventive measures and that
dental services exist
b. understand how to access the service
c. understand how to use the service
d. be persistent and ask questions
Our Role
 Patient who encounter the dental team (dentist,
dental hygienist, office staff) have the opportunity to
receive guidance and learn skills for their personal
self-care and those of their children.
 The communication skills of the dental team
contribute to the patient’s health literacy that
contributes to improved health outcomes.
Health Literacy
 Is essential to oral health
 Literacy-Defined:
The ability to read, write, speak, and compute and
solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to
function on the job and in society, to achieve one’s
goals and develop one’s knowledge and potential.
National Literacy Act 1991
Health Literacy Defined
 “The degree to which individuals have the capacity to
obtain, process and understand basic health
information and services needed to make
appropriate health decisions”
Healthy people 2010, IOM Report, 2004
 The Institute of Medicine Report, Health Literacy: A
Prescription to End Confusion (2004), gave visibility
to how literacy could affect outcomes.
Health Literacy is Dependent on Individual and
Systemic Factors:
 Communication skills of consumers and providers
 Knowledge of consumers and providers of health
topics
 Culture and societal impact
 Demands of the healthcare system
 Demands of the situation
Scope of Health Literacy
 Functional skills include reading, writing, speaking,
listening, basic math skills
 Knowledge of health topics—information about them
and services available
 Knowledge must be related to decision making
 Understanding
People with Limited Health Literacy Skills Have:
 Lower use of preventive services (fluoride
toothpaste, flu shots, screening for children)
 Higher use of treatments services which result in
higher healthcare costs
 Often feel a sense of shame about their skill level
and/or develop strategies to compensate
Literacy Measured by:
 People’s ability to apply reading skills to everyday tasks
involving:
a. prose literacy: skills needed to search, comprehend,
and use continuous tests such as news stories and
brochures.
b. document literacy: skills needed to search,
comprehend, and use noncontinuous texts such as job
applications forms, maps and food labels.
c. quantitative literacy: skills needed to identify and
perform computations using numbers embedded in
printed materials, such as numbers used in balancing a
checkbook or completing an order form
National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL), 2003; released 2006
National Assessment of Adult Literacy
2003 Findings
 Below basic: 30 million adults
 Basic: 63 million adults
 Intermediate: 95 million adults
 Proficient: 28 million
 Most adults scoring in Below Basic would not be able
to read the dosage chart on a package of over the counter
pediatric cold medicine.
 Adults scoring in Basic would find the dosage chart
difficult.
 Report documents a mismatch between a large U.S.
population and the demands of the healthcare system
and providers. 95 million adults at basic or below.
Highest Population at Risk?
 Limited health literacy is greatest among:
-older adults
-those who are poor
-people with limited education
-minority populations
-persons with limited English proficiency
What Can We Do To Improve Communication
with Patients?
 Conduct a needs assessment of your setting
 Improve the usability of all print and other
information
 Use plain language, no jargon
 Present important points first
 Use an active voice
 Big words should be explained
 Test your messages
 Ensure information is science-based &
consistent
What Can We Do to Improve Communication
with Patients?
 Create a user friendly physical environment
 Have real people answer the phone
 Provide clear directions to the location
 Urge patients to bring a list of any questions
they might have regarding the appointment
 Use clearly written words for signs and
directions
 Provide help in completing all forms
What Can We Do to Improve Communication
with Patients?
 Assess patients’ level of Health Literacy
 Use four simple questions
-Did you have any questions when filling out medical
forms?
-Can you follow written instructions for medicine?
- Do you read printed materials about health?
-Do you have difficulty understanding written material?
 Be alert to patient’s needs….if they do not read well, they
may something like “I’ll take this home. I forgot my
glasses.”
What Can We Do to Improve Communication
with Patients?
 Increase Our Skills Individually
 Listen carefully to what patient has to say
 Slow down, use short statements
 Use visual aids when appropriate
 Use the teach back method (you teach me)
 Never ask a question that has a yes or no
answer… instead “tell me about…”
Our Opportunities:
 Educate people until they understand oral health is
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related to total health
Make oral health education presentations in your
community
Go back to the basics…how to brush, floss, talk about
prevention.
Promote/partner with schools to improve literacy.
Take communication classes.
Each of us must recognize that at
any time our own health literacy
might be challenged..whether it is
for ourselves, family members or
friends.
Low health literacy in the United States cost in excess
of 100 billion dollars annually.
Source: University of Connecticut School of Business 10/10/07
Taking our responsibility to improve health literacy
will help decrease disparities and improve the quality
of each individual life…….