Health
Literacy
Audit
Presented by:
Terri Peters
Project Manager
Literacy Alberta
(403) 410-6775
tpeters@literacyalberta.ca
Why a Health Literacy Audit?
I’d tell the doctor that I
couldn’t fill out the
forms. That I had very
low literacy skills, and I
didn’t understand half of
what they were saying.
Whey they give you the
forms they just throw
them at you and expect
you to fill them out. I
would get so frustrated
that I would just leave.
- Lil
What is the
Health Literacy
Audit?
It is a series of checklists to
help health organizations
and providers choose more
literacy-friendly methods
of communicating with
patients.
The Health Literacy Audit will:
• Help you understand
patients’ health literacy
needs.
• Reaffirm the practices
health organizations
already do well.
• Give effective suggestions
for providing health
information to patients.
The Health Literacy Audit is not meant to:
• evaluate the job performance of staff.
• test the literacy levels or health knowledge of
patients.
• be used as a tool to label people as “illiterate,”
or “learning disabled,” etc.
• be a quick fix solution; it is the starting point
for you to address long term and ongoing
health literacy issues.
Who is the Health Literacy Audit for?
Any organization communicating with patients,
including:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Community health centres
Public health organizations
Hospital or long-term care centres
Pharmacies
Medical or dental clinics
Medical research facilities, etc.
Who is using the Health Literacy Audit?
• Centre for Literacy of Quebec in collaboration with Memorial
University is using a checklist from the Health Literacy Audit in
an online healthcare provider training course.
• Legacies 2010 in BC is using it as part of their training with
primary care physicians.
• North Bay Literacy Council in ON is using it with staff at two
local hospitals.
• University of Waterloo is training pharmacy students using the
Health Literacy Audit; pharmacy students are conducting
health literacy audits at their practicum placements.
What are the topics of the checklists?
• Advertising
• Health facility setting
• Admission
procedures
• Appointments
• Discharge
procedures
• Patient education
• English as an
Additional Language
and Cultural
Sensitivity
• Clear print materials
• Staff and volunteer
training
What does a checklist look like?
• Each checklist has a varying number of questions,
from 10 – 31.
• The first checklist is called the Health Literacy
Audit Short Form.
• It contains 31 questions selected from all of the
sections.
• This is an effective checklist to use when a group
cannot decide on which section of the audit to
concentrate.
What is the rating scale?
A
We are doing this consistently.
B
We are doing this, but we could make some
improvements.
C
We are not doing this and should consider it
for future implementation.
N/A Not applicable OR we do not have the
resources in our community to do this.
Some sample questions
from various sections.
Rate your own organization
as we go through.
Remember
A – means consistency
B – means improvements could be made in this
area
C – means you’re not doing it, but think you should
N/A – not applicable or you don’t have the
resources to do this
Health facility setting
• The entrance to our health
facility is clearly marked with
our name and logo.
• Our signs use standardized
medical symbols and plain
language words to describe the
medical jargon or terminology
about our services.
(Such as using the words
‘Cancer’ and ‘Oncology’ on the
same sign.)
Admission procedures
• Our forms require only brief
words, phrases, or check
boxes to complete each
question.
• We always go over forms
verbally with patients to
ensure they have
understood what
information we are
requesting and why.
Appointments
• We use gestures,
drawings, picture stories,
models, photos, videos,
or demonstrations to
enhance our
communication with
patients.
• We encourage all patients
to ask questions during
appointments.
Discharge procedures
• We always ask patients for
feedback on how effective
our communication has
been.
• We review with patients
what paperwork,
medication, or personal
assistive devices (hearing
aids, canes, etc.) they will
need to bring to their next
appointment.
Patient education
• We teach patients the most
common medical jargon
and technical vocabulary
they will need to know for
their illness, disease, or
medical procedure/test.
• We review all of our print
materials for medical
accuracy at least once a
year.
English as an additional language and
cultural sensitivity
• We ask additional language
patients whether they prefer to
receive printed health
information in simplified
English or in translation.
• We ask all patients if there are
religious or spiritual beliefs
which will guide their health
and wellness choices.
Your
turn!
How did you do?
• At your locations, share or discuss with others your
answers to the questions.
• Please make sure the mike at your location is turned
off during your discussion so that we can’t all hear
each other talking!
• We’ll come back as a whole group in 10 - 15 minutes so
that you can ask questions or make comments. Turn
your mike back on then.
• Because there are so many locations, each location will
be able to ask 2 questions or make 2 comments. Sorry,
we don’t have time for more.
How can I order a Health Literacy Audit?
Go to:
www.literacyalberta.ca
Click on:
‘Shop for Literacy’ on the left menu bar.
Download:
Order form for ‘Opening Doors.’
Note:
The Health Literacy Audit is a supplement to
Opening Doors: A Literacy Audit Tool Kit for
Customer Service Excellence.
Cost:
The Health Literacy Audit is $40 for non-profits
and $50 for all others.
Have more questions?
Call me!
Terri Peters
(403) 410-6775
tpeters@literacyalberta.ca