National Institute for Literacy's LINCS Regional Resource Centers
Sponsors Three Regional Health Literacy Summits

View the Summit Presentations

The National Institute for Literacy through its LINCS Regional Resource Centers is convening adult literacy and health professionals in three locations in February and March to share information about the research on health literacy and resources for implementing health literacy programming.

Health literacy is often defined as the ability to read, understand, and act upon health-related information. Improving health literacy may improve the health status and quality of life of America's adults, especially among adults with marginal literacy skills. The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) reported the extent of low health literacy in The Health Literacy of America's Adults: Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy. About 22 percent of adults only had Basic health literacy and 14 percent had Below Basic health literacy.

The LINCS health summits will share information on the state of health literacy in the nation and address how partnerships among adult literacy providers and health literacy providers can help in eliminating literacy barriers in accessing quality health care.

Region 3 will meet February 28, 2008 in San Francisco, CA. This summit is sponsored by Literacyworks in partnership with San Francisco State University College of Humanities, Center for Immigrant and Refugee Community Literacy Education (CIRCLE); Community Engagement Program, University of California San Francisco (UCSF); and Center for Vulnerable Populations, UCFS/San Francisco General Hospital. Presenters include Dr. Dean Schillinger, MD, University of California San Francisco Associate Professor of Medicine, and various literacy providers and adult students.
Contact Paul Heavenridge (pheaven@literacyworks.org) for registration information or go to the registration website at http://literacyworks.org/hls.
Agenda

Region 2 will meet March 5, 2008 in Atlanta, GA. This summit is sponsored by the Center for Literacy Studies, University of Tennessee, in partnership with the Center for the Study of Adult Literacy, Georgia State University; Office of Adult Literacy, Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education; and Literacy Action, Inc. (Atlanta). Presenters include Cynthia Baur (US/DHHS) and Dr. Yolanda Partida, UCSF Fresno.
Contact Chas Durant (cdurant1@utk.edu) or register online http://utk-cls.ra.utk.edu/register/lincshealth.asp.
Agenda

Region 1 will meet March 25-26, 2008 in Indianapolis, IN. This summit is sponsored by World Education and Kent State University/Ohio Literacy Resource Center in partnership with Indiana Department of Education/Division of Adult Education. Among the presenters are Paul D. Smith, MD, University of Wisconsin (Health literacy: A clinician's point of view) and Andrew Pleasant, Ph.D., Rutgers University (Advancing health literacy: Building bridges). The summit will also highlight health literacy initiatives in Wisconsin, New York, Iowa and Rhode Island.
Contact Kaye Beall (kaye_beall@worlded.org) for registration information.
Agenda

Information on states covered by each region can be found at http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/about/resource_centers.html. However, individuals are encouraged to attend any location that is best for them.