Health Literacy News
Listed here are news and information related to health literacy issues. Please note that some of the links below may take you off the AMA Foundation website. A listing here does not indicate endorsement by the AMA Foundation.
Health literacy and outcomes among patients with heart failure
JAMA. 2011;305(16):1695-1701. April 27, 2011.
Prescription drug containers may get simpler labels
American Medical News: Jan. 17, 2011
Discharge missteps can send seniors back to hospital
American Medical News: Feb. 15, 2010
Half of parents misinterpret OTC cough and cold medication labels
American Medical News: July 24, 2009
Improving health literacy helps diminish disparities
American Medical News: June 29, 2009
Functional health literacy in patients with glaucoma in urban settings
Arch Ophthalmol: May 2008
Simpler drug packaging doesn't increase patient compliance
American Medical News: March 30, 2009
National Quality Forum sets bar for culturally competent care
American Medical News: March 19, 2009
Written screening tests confuse some patients
American Medical News: Nov. 3, 2008
AMA tool kit helps doctors measure, boost patient comprehension
American Medical News: July 7, 2008
Experts debate value of assessing health literacy
American Medical News: June 2, 2008
Bill aims to improve health literacy
American Medical News: Jan. 21, 2008
Literacy advocates call for drug label uniformity
American Medical News: Nov. 19, 2007
New test quickly assesses literacy
American Medical News: Jan. 16, 2006
Incorporating Health Literacy Into Medical Education
AMA Foundation Health Literacy Update: Summer 2005
White House Conference on Aging
Proceedings of the Mini-Conference on Health Literacy and Health Disparities, AMA, 2005.
Are patients more at ease when you use familiar words?
American Medical News: Jan. 17, 2005
Medical Student Leads Health Literacy Training Efforts on Campus
AMA Foundation Health Literacy Update: Winter 2004/2005
Low Health Literacy Called a Major Problem,
Brian Vastag. JAMA. 2004;291:2181-2182. May 12, 2004.
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Health literacy: Help your patients understand directions
American Medical News: Editorial - May 10, 2004.
Doctors can take steps in their practices to help the 90 million Americans who have trouble comprehending health information.
Low health literacy is pervasive barrier to care
American Medical News: April 26, 2004.
Reports on patients' inability to understand health information point up the need for clear physician communication.
Health literacy: Your patients can't follow instructions they don't understand
American Medical News: Editorial - June 16, 2003.
Physicians can improve their patients' health outcomes by taking simple steps to improve health literacy.
Patients need clear messages to navigate medicine's maze
American Medical News: May 26, 2003.
Experts on health literacy say that condensing medical advice to a few simple instructions may be the best way to reach patients.
Keep it clear and simple for your patients
American Medical News: Aug. 5, 2002.
Patients may not understand what doctors are telling them; a CME video helps physicians make sure the message is getting across. Journals and American Medical News
Association of Health Literacy With Diabetes Outcomes.
JAMA, Jul 2002; 288: 475 - 482 Dean Schillinger, Kevin Grumbach, John Piette, Frances Wang, Dennis Osmond, Carolyn Daher, Jorge Palacios, Gabriela Diaz Sullivan, and Andrew B. Bindman
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Communication breakdown
American Medical News: Editorial - March 6, 2000.
The implications of poor communication touch nearly every aspect of health care. The AMA has created a number of efforts aimed at improving doctor-patient communication.
Health Information on the Internet: Accessibility, Quality, and Readability in English and Spanish
JAMA, May 2001; 285: 2612 - 2621.
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Pediatricians Reach Out and Read to young patients
American Medical News: March 26, 2001.
Supporters say literacy promotion has a place in primary care.
A Multivariate Analysis of Factors Associated With Depression: Evaluating the Role of Health Literacy as a Potential Contributor
Arch Intern Med. 160;3307-3314, Nov. 27, 2000, Julie Gazmararian.
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(Free abstract available)
Use of a Low-Literacy Patient Education Tool to Enhance Pneumococcal Vaccination Rates: A Randomized Controlled Trial
JAMA, Aug 1999; 282: 646 - 650. Terry A. Jacobson, Donna M. Thomas, Felicia James Morton, Gardiner Offutt, Jennifer Shevlin, and Susan Ray
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Why Literacy Matters: Links Between Reading Ability and Health
Arch Ophthalmol. 117;100-103, January 1999, Why Literacy Matters: Links Between Reading Ability and Health, Paul P. Lee, MD, JD
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Health Literacy Among Medicare Enrollees in a Managed Care Organization
JAMA. 281;545-551, Feb. 10, 1999, Health Literacy Among Medicare Enrollees in a Managed Care Organization, Julie A. Gazmararian, MPH, PhD; David W. Baker, MD, MPH; Mark V. Williams, MD; Ruth M. Pa
(Free abstract available)
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Health Literacy: Report of the Council on Scientific Affairs
JAMA, Feb. 10, 1999. Vol 281, No. 6
Missed messages
American Medical News: editorial, July 20, 1998
Millions of patients lack the literacy skills to fully understand their illnesses and treatment plans The doctor explains. The patient nods. The problem is, does the patient really understand what the doctor is saying about the diagnosis and treatment plan? In very many cases the answer is no.
Relationship of Functional Health Literacy to Patients' Knowledge of Their Chronic Disease: A Study of Patients With Hypertension and Diabetes
Arch Intern Med. 158;166-172, Jan. 26, 1998, Relationship of Functional Health Literacy to Patients' Knowledge of Their Chronic Disease: A Study of Patients With Hypertension and Diabetes, Mark V.
(Free abstract available)
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Dentist-patient communication techniques used in the United States: The results of a national survey
J Am Dent Assoc. Apr 29, 2011; 142: 518-530
Health Literacy Interventions and Outcomes: An Updated Systematic Review
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, Md., March 2011.
This report, an update of their 2004 literature review featuring findings from more than 100 new studies, found that low health literacy is linked to higher risk of death and more emergency room visits and hospitalizations.
Many Americans have poor health literacy
The Washington Post, Feb. 28, 2011
Health literacy themed issue of American Medical Writers Association Journal
AMWA Journal, Dec 2010, Vol. 25, No. 4
Validation of an Organizational Communication Climate Assessment Toolkit
Am J of Med Quality. Nov/Dec 2010. Vol. 25, No. 6, 436-443.
Health Literacy Implications of the Affordable Care Act
Center for Health Care Strategies, Inc. Nov 2010.
Special issue on health literacy of Journal of Health Communication
Journal of Health Communication International Perspectives, Vol. 15, Supplement 2, 2010
Contextual Errors and Failures in Individualizing Patient Care
Ann Intern Med., July 20, 2010; 153:126-127
The "Newest Vital Sign" Ease of Use and Correlates
J Am Board Fam Med. Mar-Apr 2010; 23: 195-203
Patients' Question-Asking Behavior During Primary Care Visits
Ann Fam Med. Vol. 8, No. 2. Mar/Apr 2010
More than half can't find heart on body diagram
CNN Health, June 15, 2009
Do You Know What Your Doctor Is Talking About?
New York Times: April 2, 2009
Doctors Often Overestimate Patients' Health Literacy
US News & World Report, Oct. 17, 2008
Following Doctor's Orders Isn't Hard, if You Can Read
New York Times: July 24, 2007
The Importance of Knowing What the Doctor Is Talking About
New York Times: January 30, 2007.
Drug labels spell trouble for patients
MedPage Today: November 30, 2006
Study finds that even patients with high literacy can have trouble deciphering medicine label instructions
Navigating Healthcare: Both educators and medical professionals have roles to play in making healthcare more accessible to all
Focus on Basics: Vol. 8, Issue C, November 2006, Jennie E. Anderson & Rima Rudd
A National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy research team conducted activities to understand and document what makes healthcare facilities difficult to navigate and to highlight unnecessary barriers.
The Health Literacy Consulting website features several articles
Doctors have prescription for peace of mind
St. Petersburg Times: Feb. 15, 2005
A program called Information Rx is being piloted in several Florida counties and serves as an example of a health literacy tool that providers can use to address patients' low health literacy.
Institute of Medicine Report on Health Literacy Released
Institute of Medicine, 2004.
IOM has released "Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion". Among the findings are that 90 million Americans are burdened with inadequate health literacy skills.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Report on Health Literacy Released
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2004.
This report, titled "Literacy and Health Outcomes",supports that there is a relationship between low reading skill and poor health.
