Unit 3: Key Factors of Health Literacy
Case Study
Stella has been home for two months. She has not followed up most of her referrals or follow-up appointments. During the one appointment that she managed to keep with her primary care physician, she was told that she has depression. She tells you she is Asian and does not believe in depression. You inquire about her inability to manage her appointment schedule and she states that she has trouble with transportation and prefers to wait for her children to accompany her. The family however, is having trouble supporting her as they are unsure on how to proceed. Recall your initial thoughts from the last unit on how you would work with her. What do you think is going on here? How would you help her? Think about it as you work through the unit and share your thoughts on the course blog discussion for unit 3.
Introduction
Culture and communication have been identified as important factors contributing to low health literacy (Bettancourt et al., 2003). Culture impacts the way people comprehend, communicate and respond to health care information, as individual’s beliefs, values, attitudes and traditions play key roles. Cultural competence is the ability of health professionals and providers to recognize this diversity among clients and utilize it to produce positive outcomes. In social work we call this “meeting the clients where they are” and using a “strength’s base approach”.
Communication is also a significant barrier to health literacy. As health professionals, we have our own “lingo” that we speak and our own unique culture, due to our training and working environments. This can have a negative impact on how we interact with clients. We also come to the “helping relationship” with our own personal cultures and biases. As a result, we have to be mindful when we interact and communicate with clients.
Several strategies have been proven effective for communicating with clients from diverse backgrounds, specifically:
- Create a “Shame Free” environment
- Use plain, non-medical language
- Slow down when speaking
- Use or draw pictures
- Limit the amount of information provided
- Always check for understanding and summarize
Objectives
- Participants will understand the impact of culture and communication on health literacy
- Participants will understand ways to communicate with diverse and low literate clients
- Learners will develop a communication health literacy tool
Purpose
Culture and literacy are important in screening programs for at risk groups who as noted in unit 2 are less likely to use and receive preventive services. Therefore it is necessary to a client’s cultural background and the role it plays in health literacy. Effective communication is essential for navigating the health care system and enhancing health literacy.
In this unit participants will examine the role of culture and communication in health literacy and its impact on clients. They watch a video, read articles, do activities and assess the social worker's role in the work with clients.
Engage
- View the video Culture, Language and Health Literacy
- Read Cultural Competence in Health Care
- Read Bettencourt et al. (2003). Defining Cultural Competence
- Discuss on unit 3 of the course blog: What are your experiences with diverse clients? What strategies have you used? How culturally competent is your agency? How would you use culture in your work with Stella? Integrate the course content into your responses.
Apply
- Complete steps 2-3 of the pill card
- Create a Plain Language Word List
- Take a quiz on cultural competency
Reflect
- In a word document or online journal reflect on what you learned in this unit, how you learned it and what additional info you would like to know about cultural competency and communication and factors of health literacy. Think in context of your work experiences and how the knowledge would be applicable.
References and Resources
Bettencourt et al. (2003). Defining cultural competence: A practical framework for addressing racial/ethnic disparities in health and health care. Public Health Reports, 118: 293-302.
Culture and Language in Health Literacy Retrieved from http://www.hrsa.gov/culturalcompetence/index.html%20
Culutral Competence in Health Care. Retrieved from https://hpi.georgetown.edu/agingsociety/pubhtml/cultural/cultural.html
Schwartzberg et al. (2007 suppl 1). Communication techniques for patients with low health literacy: A survey of physicians, nurses and pharmacists. American Journal of Health Behavior, S96-S104.
Proceed to Unit 4: Health Literacy Strategies for Empowering Clients
Return to Unit 2: What is Health Literacy and its Societal Impact?
Course Home Page: Health Literacy for Social Work Professionals
Class Page ETAP 623 Spring 2015 taught by Byrne