Health Literacy: Getting to
Organizational Change
John Parmer, Ph.D.
Health Communication Specialist
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
January 30, 2013
Office of the Director
Office of the Associate Director for Communication
Key Message
It is time to commit to measurable
organizational change.
Presentation Questions



What are the key developments in health literacy in the
U.S. ?
How has the Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) contributed to health literacy
improvement?
Where can we go from here?
The Gap
Health Literacy of U.S. Adults
12%
36%
Cycle of Crisis Care:
A Patient Experience
Key Developments and Activities
$95 MILLION
Seven Goal Areas

1. Health information creation
and dissemination

2. Healthcare services

3. Early childhood through
university education

4. Community-based services

5. Partnership and
collaboration

6. Research and evaluation

7. Dissemination of evidencebased practice
10
Clear communication
about health insurance
1
Supportive
leadership
9
2
High-risk situational
strategies
Full integration
8
3
Attributes of a
Health Literate Organization
Easy-to-use health
content
Ready workforce
7
4
Easy access to services
Inclusive practices
6
Confirmed
understanding
5
Needs-based
approach
Source: Adapted from Brach C, Dreyer B, Schyve P, Hernandez LM, Baur C, Lemerise AJ, Parker R. 2012. Attributes of a Health Literate
Organization, www.iom.edu/Activities/PublicHealth/~/media/Files/Activity%20Files/PublicHealth/HealthLiteracy/10attributes.pdf
Health Literate
Care:
A Patient
Experience
Clear Communication Index



List of 22 items to score communication products
Items identified through review of scientific
research in communication and related disciplines
7 areas







Main Message and Call to Action
Language
Information Design
State of Science
Behavioral Recommendations
Numbers
Risk
What’s Next?

Organizational change
 Individual organizations
 Industry, government, education and non-profit sectors

Elements of organizational change
 Mine the research for practice insights
 Create and implement off-the-shelf products
 Track and report progress
• Document what organizations are doing differently
• Document impact on policy-relevant outcomes
Thank you!
What questions do you have?
www.cdc.gov/healthliteracy
http://blogs.cdc.gov/healthliteracy/
For more information please contact Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30333
Telephone, 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636)/TTY: 1-888-232-6348
E-mail: cdcinfo@cdc.gov
Web: www.cdc.gov
The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official
position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Office of the Director
Office of the Associate Director for Communication
National Action Plan to Improve
Health Literacy

Full text
 http://www.health.gov/communication/HLActionPlan/

Resources for goals and strategies
 http://www.cdc.gov/healthliteracy/PlanAct/index.html
Professional Resources:
Free Training from HHS
 http://www.cdc.gov/healthliteracy/GetTrainingCE.html
 http://www.hrsa.gov/healthliteracy/
 https://cccm.thinkculturalhealth.hhs.gov/
Professional Resources:
Health Literacy Websites
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www.cdc.gov/healthliteracy
http://ahrq.hhs.gov/browse/hlitix.htm
http://www.ihs.gov/healthcommunications/
http://www.nih.gov/clearcommunication/
http://www.health.gov/communication/literacy/
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/healthliteracy/index.htm
http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/templates/browse.aspx?
lvl=1&lvlID=3