[HealthLiteracy 1576] Re: Med. School Literacy "standard patients"Andrew Pleasant pleasant at aesop.rutgers.eduFri Dec 7 14:12:57 EST 2007
Hi Would be very helpful if you could hunt down one report or the other on this. (for me at least) I wouldn't recommend not letting participants know these sort of activities are learning exercises. Deception never works in the end. Given that 88% of the country (almost 9 out of 10) is below the proficient level (NAAL), there is no justification to 'dumb down' the process - it is demeaning and the barriers and challenges are significant enough without that. Health literacy is everyone's problem, not just someone else's. thanks, Andrew >Dear List Surv, > >Here is a brief summary of a health/literacy program that was >conducted during the 1990s at the Univ. of Colorado Med School. > >The purpose was to create awareness of the literacy problems, >and teach mediating actions to reduce the problems. The program was >funded by NCI and ran for 2 years. Laurie Schneider of AMC was >involved in facilitating the program. (Ceci and I had very minor >roles as consultants.) > >To teach awareness of the problems, the program employed actors and >actresses of several ethnic groups to act as "standarized patients". >They were given training to act as patients who had limited literacy >skills. (The students were not told in advance that this was role >playing.) The actors interacted with the med students in typical >examining room situations. After these interactions, students were >advised of ways they could have improved their communications with >the pts. > >Some findings: > >- The awareness goal was reached, and the students enjoyed the encounters. > >- The actors/actresses did not like their roles. They felt >demeanded to play "dumb" characters. > >- Soon the word got around to the students that these were not real >patients, and being bright young people, and they began to "game" >the system. > >- I believe that the program died; primarily for lack of funds. >(And perhaps for lack of a strong advocate.) > >- A preliminary report was issued at the end of 2 years, but I >don't believe there was a final report. > >We hope this can add a bit on curriculum. Is it of any help? > >Ceci and Len Doak > > > > > > > > > > > >Check out AOL Money & Finance's list of the ><http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?NCID=aoltop00030000000001>hottest >products and ><http://money.aol.com/top5/general/ways-you-are-wasting-money?NCID=aoltop00030000000002>top >money wasters of 2007. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Health and Literacy mailing list >HealthLiteracy at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/healthliteracy >Email delivered to pleasant at aesop.rutgers.edu -- ----------------------------------------------- Andrew Pleasant Assistant Professor Department of Human Ecology Extension Department of Family and Community Health Sciences Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey Cook Office Building, 55 Dudley Road #207 New Brunswick, NJ 08901 phone: 732-932-9153 x. 320; fax: 732-932-6667
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