Studies show that the majority of medical information patients hear from a clinician is forgotten, sometimes immediately. And nearly half of what’s retained is incorrect! Staff have introduced many health literacy initiatives over the past several years to help ensure that our patients and family members better understand the medical information they receive – and feel comfortable asking care providers for clarification if they don’t.
One recent example of these efforts is the development of the Clostridium difficile (C.diff) brochure for patients and families. Commonly found in hospitals, this infection is easily spread, because, in part, “people don’t always know they have it,” said Maureen Bonnell, BSN, patient education specialist. In addition, it’s highly contagious. “All it takes to become infected is for someone to touch a surface that’s infected and then touch his/her mouth or nose. The germ can live on surfaces for months. Only bleach can kill it.”
To help decrease the spread of C. diff on her oncology unit, Michelle Biala, BSN, of Rhoads 3, worked with both Bonnell and members of HUP’s Patient and Family Advisory Council to create a much more patient- and family-friendly brochure. The language in the new version is clear and, thanks to the graphic talents of Anita McGinn-Natali of the Advisory Council, the design is open and easy to read.
The multidisciplinary team also developed a guide to help nurses use “teachback” methods to confirm that patients do, indeed, understand the C. diff information. Both are available through Penn Chart and are used not only at HUP but also at Pennsylvania Hospital and Penn Presbyterian.
Reaching Out to Help
Patient education specialists are also planning to go out into the community to raise awareness about health literacy. On a recent visit to a senior center, Andrea Blount, MPH, BSN, used the Ask Me 3 guidelines (from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement) to explain the importance of asking their health care provider three questions:
*What is my main problem?
*What do I need to do?
*Why is it important for me to do this?
“We want people to feel empowered to ask these questions, to better understand their problems and the treatment,” Blount said, noting that she hopes to partner with Pam Mack-Brooks, MSN, professional development specialist, to promote health literacy at some of her community outreach events.
In addition, Blount said they are examining the possibility of forming a partnership with centers that teach ESL (English as a second language), to learn how to better help this population understand their health care. Down the road, “we’d also like to ask volunteer learners to review our patient education materials and give us feedback on how best to develop them,” said Carolyn Cutilli, PhD, RN, patient and family education specialist. “We want to make sure material meets the needs of people with all levels of health literacy.”
“There is no way to identify if a patient is health care illiterate,” Blount said. “It’s incumbent upon us to be aware and make sure they understand.”
The C. diff brochure and the many other patient education resources are available on here.
For assistance with revising or creating patient education materials, contact HUPPatientEducationSpecialist@uphs.upenn.edu.