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Practical Ideas for Primary Care Practices

This guide was created as a companion to the information and step-by-step guidance provided in the Â鶹ƵµÀHealth Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit.

Contents

About This Guide
General Toolkit Guidance
Path to Improvement
   Tool 1: Form a Team
   Tool 2: Create a Health Literacy Environment Improvement Plan
   Tool 3: Raise Awareness
Spoken Communication
   Tool 4: Communicate Clearly
   Tool 5: Use the Teach-Back Method
   Tool 6: Follow Up With Patients
   Tool 7: Improve Telephone Access
   Tool 8: Conduct Brown Bag Medicine Reviews
   Tool 9: Address Language Differences
   Tool 10: Consider Culture, Customs, and Beliefs
Written Communication
   Tool 11: Assess, Select, and Create Easy-to-Understand Materials
   Tool 12: Use Health Education Material Effectively
   Tool 13: Welcome Patients
Patient Self-Management & Empowerment
   Tool 14: Encourage Questions
   Tool 15: Make Action Plans
   Tool 16: Help Patients Remember How and When to Take Their Medicine
   Tool 17: Get Patient Feedback
Supportive Systems for Patients
   Tool 18: Link Patients to Non-Medical Support
   Tool 19: Direct Patients to Medicine Resources
   Tool 20: Connect Patients With Literacy and Math Resources
   Tool 21: Make Referrals Easy
 

This guide is a formal deliverable under the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Contract HHSA290200710008, TO#10 (Task Order Officer: Cindy Brach, MPP)

Authors:

Maribel Cifuentes, RN, BSN¹
Angela G. Brega, PhD^2,1
Juliana Barnard, MA³
Natabhona M. Mabachi, PhD, MPH⁴
Karen Albright, PhD³
Barry D. Weiss, MD⁵
David R. West, PhD^2,3
Cindy Brach, MPP⁶

For convenience, we use the term "patient" throughout the toolkit, but recognize that health literacy improvement efforts often include caregivers, family members, and other consumers of health care.

This document is in the public domain and may be used and reprinted without permission except those copyrighted materials noted for which further reproduction is prohibited without the specific permission of copyright holders.

Author Affiliations:

¹ Department of Family Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado.
² Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado.
³ Colorado Health Outcomes Program, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado.
⁴ American Academy of Family Physicians, Kansas City, Kansas.
⁵ Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.
⁶ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD