Return-Path: <root> Received: (from root@localhost) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) id f7VBrio09817 for health-archive@nifl.gov; Fri, 31 Aug 2001 07:53:44 -0400 (EDT) Resent-Message-Id: <200108311153.f7VBrio09817@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from imo-m08.mx.aol.com (imo-m08.mx.aol.com [64.12.136.163]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with ESMTP id f3AHhFg03887 for <nifl-health@nifl.gov>; Tue, 10 Apr 2001 13:43:15 -0400 (EDT) Received: from Dwyoho@aol.com by imo-m08.mx.aol.com (mail_out_v29.14.) id p.d3.132946ff (4263) for <nifl-health@nifl.gov>; Tue, 10 Apr 2001 13:43:06 -0400 (EDT) From: Dwyoho@aol.com Message-ID: <d3.132946ff.2804a02a@aol.com> Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2001 13:43:06 EDT Subject: Re: [NIFL-HEALTH:2991] Literacy and health collaborations To: nifl-health@nifl.gov Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="part1_d3.132946ff.2804a02a_boundary" Content-Disposition: Inline X-Mailer: AOL 6.0 for Windows US sub 10520 Resent-From: root@literacy.nifl.gov Resent-Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2001 07:53:44 -0400 Resent-To: health-archive@nifl.gov Status: O Content-Length: 8333 Lines: 150 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 04/07/2001 2:24:38 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Plnenglish@aol.com writes: > I don't think we > can convince health care providers that their impressions are wrong with > the > data I'm thinking of. > > I'd like to pose a new question: Literacy professionals, what have health folk taught you, and health people, what have you learner from literacy professionals beyond the shock of the depth of the literacy problem? This excellent dialog (let's keep it going) provides a case example of a point I raised earlier: One dynamic to consider when crafting effective collaborations is the tendency of health professionals to look for data and research to make decisions about programming, while literacy professionals tend to focus on the individual involved, and ways to help adults reach goals, many of which are not measurable by the standards the health community is used to. The literacy profession has and continues to struggle mightily with tracking outcomes and providing data that demonstrates the efficacy of adult literacy programs. Health people are way ahead of literacy folk in setting standards, establishing benchmarks, proving "cause and effect". It is one of the reasons why this dialog is so critical. We have so much to teach each other. When I talk to health professinals about the difficult area of motivating people to change health behavior, I find I am usually on more common ground. The inherent problems health professionals face who deal with health prevention are often very similiar to what literacy professionals deal with: compliance, factors like lifestyle, family history,all the issues of poverty, etc. One contributor here has already commented about the craziness of how literacy now "counts" its success, such as retention and enrollment rates. Suppose health professionals were called to task because (statistics guessed at) over 50% of all adults are overweight and not even 1% are successful in addressing this health issue? The health prevention people know the difficulty in proving the long-term effectiveness of health education efforts. We all understand we are working WITH people, not ON them, that this is America where adults are free to choose, and we are not manufacturing widgets. I like to share that one of the most important insights I have gleaned from dialog with health professionals is what I call the "high stakes" of the health care environment for many professionals. If I go to work and have an off-day where not much is accomlplished, after all, nobody gets any "sicker" in terms of their literacy needs. Literacy work, however valuable, is not crisis intervention. Often, health care providers are dealing with exactly that--a looming crisis where the result of intervention is absolutely critical, and often immediately apparent. When I began to really think of what this means for health literacy, I saw the problem with new eyes. Thank you, List Contributors, especially nurses, for teaching me that. How about some reflection and further discussion: Literacy professionals, what have you learned from health people, and health folks, what has literacy taught you? (You'll note my implicit avoidance of any argument over whether or not we have anything to teach each other--to me it is a foregone conclusion). Regards, Debbie Deborah W. Yoho Co-moderator, NIFL Health Literacy Discussion Group Chief Executive Officer Greater Columbia Literacy Council 921 Woodrow Street Columbia, SC 29205 803/765-2555 dwyoho@aol.com
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