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From: "Marchena, Ana I./Office of Deputy Physician-in-Chief"
To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov>
Subject: [NIFL-HEALTH:4463] Re: Which Test?
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Thank you for sharing these thoughts. The challenge that many health
educators encounter is how to assess where to begin and the
effectiveness of the tools. The customary approach is to have an ongoing
relationship with your target audience and let them know that we are NOT
testing them. But actually checking how well - - - or poorly- - - we are
doing what we strive to achieve.
All of us agree that we do not want to create another obstacle that may
keep individuals from going to the doctor. Unfortunately, there can be a
disconnect between the health literacy and adult literacy when in fact
they are almost two sides of the same coin.
Regards, Ana
-----Original Message-----
From: nifl-health@nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-health@nifl.gov] On Behalf Of
Beccah Rothschild
Sent: Friday, June 11, 2004 12:49 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: [NIFL-HEALTH:4461] Re: Which Test?
I am posting the following email (below) on behalf of Resonja
Willoughby, an adult literacy student and staff member at Second Start
Adult Literacy Program at the Oakland (California) Public Library. This
email is in response to the dialogue about testing patients for their
literacy levels when they go to the doctor.
Thanks,
Beccah Rothschild
Health Literacy Manager
California Literacy, Inc.
1475 Powell Street, Suite 106
Emeryville, CA 94608
ph: 510-655-3264
fax: 510-655-3268
beccahrothschild@caliteracy.org
www.caliteracy.org
www.cahealthliteracy.org
************************
I'm responding to testing patients for literacy when they go to the
doctor:
I'm outraged about this. The health professionals need to leave adult
literacy to adult literacy professionals. I think it's really good that
you all are discussing literacy and trying to partnership with people
that know more about this issue, but testing needs to be done with
people that are more sensitive and educated about adult literacy.
I'm in agreement with Archie Willard about the fact that literacy
students are already going through enough. We are required to take a
test at the adult literacy programs to get in to learn how to read, and
now we have to take a test at the doctor's office? What will be done
with that information? That's a bigger question. And what will the
test results be used for? I may be sorry for saying this, but it makes
me question the intention of the test.
Studies showed that people that have reading difficulty have the worst
heath and most likely won't go the doctor because of filling out forms.
Just think what will happen, if they found out if they come to the
doctor and they will have to take a test to see how well they read and
understand. People that are in the literacy field can foresee what will
happen -- if people have to take a literacy test at the doctor, they
will stop seeing the doctor. And this includes myself, and I am also an
adult literacy student.
Resonja Willoughby
Second Start Adult Literacy (Oakland, CA)
-----Original Message-----
From: nifl-health@nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-health@nifl.gov]On Behalf Of
Archie Willard
Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 2004 3:33 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: [NIFL-HEALTH:4442] Re: Which Test?
To All
I have said this before, but I think it is worth repeating. I do not
like to take written tests to receive health care. As a dyslexic and an
adult learner with reading problems I speak for a lot of adult learners.
We hate having to take another written literacy test. People with other
kinds of handicaps are not continually asked to expose their weaknesses
to whatever degree they are handicapped. There is no physical pain in
taking a written test, but when we have to take a written test there is
a lot of frustration inside of us. We grow up feeling humiliated because
we had poor reading skills and now we are adults. More written tests
are seen as another step backwards for us and it turns us away.
Archie Willard
Adult Learner
David Rosen wrote:
> NIFL Health Colleagues,
>
> I have not seen the REALM before, so thanks, Carol, for the Web page.
> Now that I have seen it, I am concerned.
>
> It is not clear to me what this assessment measures. It doesn't
> measure grade level, which is what it appears to report, and it
> doesn't measure comprehension. It appears to measure one's ability to
> pronounce medical vocabulary. I, for one can probably pronounce
> hundreds of medical words which I do not understand the meaning of.
> And I know people who do understand the meaning of some medical words
> but cannot pronounce them. So, can someone explain what this
> assessment does validly measure?
>
> I also have some concerns about administering literacy assessments in
> medical contexts. If someone comes in for medical help, isn't it the
> institution's or agency's responsibility to provide medical help, not
> to assess their literacy. For example, at least one hospital in
> Boston does not bring up literacy, per se. Instead, patients with
> diseases or medical conditions are told "You have a disease that you
> need to learn about. What ways would you prefer to learn about it?
> Would you like to talk with someone? Read about it? Watch a video?"
> Patients who do not choose to read may or may not have difficulty
> reading, but that isn't the problem. Especially a time of crisis is
> not the time to confront problems of literacy. The problem is how to
> help patients learn what they need to in ways which work best for
> them.
>
> Others views on this? Do you use the REALM? How? Why? Please help
> me to understand the conditions under which it would be useful. Have I
> missed something?
>
> Thanks,
>
> David J. Rosen
> djrosen@comcast.net
>
>
>
> On Tuesday, June 8, 2004, at 04:37 PM, Walter F. Wallace wrote:
>
>> Tx everyone for the leads on REALM...got to the heart of the
>> matter...
>>
>> Walter
>>
>> Walter F. Wallace
>> ACGME Regulations Manager
>> GME Office
>> Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
>> 603-653-0466 (V)
>> 603-653-0405 (F)
>> Pager 5860
>> ********************************************
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>
--
Archie Willard
millard@goldfieldaccess.net
URL - http://www.readiowa.org/archiew.html
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