Matt:

I'm not aware of any specific surveys that were developed or used to "assess the current health literacy rate of a county," but there are a lot of data that already exist that you can draw from. Perhaps the reason you cannot find any examples of a survey is a sign that these surveys are not an efficient way to gather the information you are looking for.

Here are some of my suggestions and a few resources:

Low Literacy Prevalence Calculator
http://www.pfizerhealthliteracy.com/physicians-providers/prevalence-calculator.html
Estimate what portion of your patients face health literacy challenges.
(Source: Pfizer Clear Health Communication Initiative)

According to the above tool, providers can get an estimate of the percentage of their patients who might have limited health literacy by determining the percentage of patients in these key areas:

Percent over 65 years of age
Percent enrolled in Medicaid or other public assistance program
Percentage that are White
Percentage that are Black (African American)
Percentage that are Hispanic
Percentage that mainly speak a language other than English

If you looked up the statistics for your county in these areas and entered the percentages into the calculator, you would get "a rough estimate" of the percentage of the population in your county that might have limited health literacy. 

I guess you'd need to think about whether a rough estimate is enough to go on, or if you really want to exert the energy and resources to try and get a more exact estimate. Perhaps the calculator is something to use with individual clinics or providers so they can see an estimate for their own practice.

The information for this tool is pulled from the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL). There was a state component to this as well, and Missouri was one of the states that participated. You can get specific data below:

State Results from the National Assessment of Adult Literacy: Missouri
http://www.air.org/publications/documents/SAAL_MO_web.pdf

These guys are listed as contacts for the state:

	Don Eisinger
	Coordinator 
	Adult Education and Employment Training Unit
	Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Ed
	Phone: 573 751 2571
	don.eisinger at dese.mo.gov

	Ron Jewell
	Director, Adult Education and Literacy
	Adult Education
	Phone: 573 526 4822
	ron.jewell at dese.mo.gov

I hope this information is helpful. I look forward to seeing other replies on the topic of surveys to access health literacy of a county.

Doug Seubert
Quality Improvement & Care Management
Family Health Center/Community Heath Access

Marshfield Clinic
1000 N Oak Avenue
Marshfield, WI 54449
www.marshfieldclinic.org/quality

(715) 387-5096 (1-800-782-8581 ext. 75096)
seubert.douglas at marshfieldclinic.org


------Original Message------
From:	"Matt Gayer" <mcggayer at sbcglobal.net>
Date:	Thu Jun 05, 2008 -- 09:12:38 PM
To:	healthliteracy at nifl.gov
Subject:	[HealthLiteracy 2053]  Health Literacy Assessment Survey

Hello All-
    I am health literacy intern this summer at a county health department in Missouri.  My first goal is to assess the current health literacy rate of the county so we can identify strengths and weaknesses, then prepare an implementation plan tailored to best fit the community.  In order to assess current health literacy, I proposed that a survey of some sort would probably be necessary in order to formulate our initial research.  I have been able to thus far find any examples of such a survey/questionnaire, and was wondering if anyone had used/created one or knew from where I could find one.  I very much appreciate any help with this as I prepare to begin the first steps in our new health literacy program.  Thank you.

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