Health and Community Resources

Very often we hear that if we do not ask, we would never know.  The same applies when caring for patients.  Every city, region, and barrios have similar issues concerning linking patients not only with appropriate health care services, but also with community resources.   Health centers, practices, especially those serving patients in rural areas can implement easy steps to follow in order to provide comprehensive and continuous care.  Ask patients and families what services they need, it can be from mental health services to a ESL program.  Health and literacy are intertwined, there is a clear link to the lack of health care accessibility, knowledge and ability to promote health among individuals with low literacy level.

Many of the USA ills are directly related to illiteracy.  Just a few statistics:

• Literacy is learned. Illiteracy is passed along by parents who cannot read or write.
• One child in four grows up not knowing how to read.
• 43% of adults at Level 1 literacy skills live in poverty compared to only 4% of those at Level 5
• 3 out of 4 food stamp recipients perform in the lowest 2 literacy levels
• 90% of welfare recipients are high school dropouts
• 16 to 19 year old girls at the poverty level and below, with below average skills, are 6 times more likely to have out-of-wedlock children than their reading counterparts.
• Low literary costs $73 million per year in terms of direct health care costs. A recent study by Pfizer put the cost much higher.
  (Source: http://www.begintoread.com/research/literacystatistics.html)
  
  
  
  Health care providers have credibility, the community trust their decisions, care and services.  Therefore, community health centers, practices are in an amazing position to promote literacy among patients who want to improve their reading skills.  By doing this, health centers/practices can fight health care disparities.  Here is a resource that can give you more information on health and literacy resources, a model that can be applied in any health care center.  (www.nchealthliteracy.org/toolkit/tool20.pdf)
  
  
  Tell me what your experience has been and if there are any tips, ideas that you can share with others. 
  
  
  Helen Dao, MHA