Comments on: Measuring Health Literacy

By: Kim Hume

Kim Hume — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:25:15 +0000

Fran,
I agree with what you are saying. If only we could get others in our institutions to understand this concept of individualized, personalized teaching at the patients level. I think the Pfizer test is a simple way to deomonstrate that a person’s appearance, educational level and profession will not predict their literacy level. Unfortunately, some staff use these criteria to determine what or how they will teach a patient.

By: Helen Osborne

Helen Osborne — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:06:12 +0000

The Newest Vital Sign is best used to assess populations, not individuals. Here’s an article I wrote based on an interview with Barry Weiss, MD who worked with a team to develop the Newest Vital Sign. “In Other Words… Screening for Health Literacy Using the Newest Vital Sign,” http://www.healthliteracy.com/article.asp?PageID=6766

By: Sandy Cornett

Sandy Cornett — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:46:42 +0000

Fran:
I agree with you that we should not be “testing” an individual’s literacy level as part of the assessment when they come to our facilities. That is much too intimidating and sets the wrong tone for the patient-provider interaction. However, you may want to test a number of patients, using the NVS, to get an average of the literacy levels of a group of patients that we serve at a specific health center. In this instance, it is presented to the patient as a way for them to help us determine if we are meeting the needs of our patients by having the appropriate materials for them.
Sandy