Main description:

In this comprehensive volume, the authors present the major issues in health literacy from the standpoint of the patient, as well as the challenges that the problem places on health care providers. It encompasses and distills some specific methodologies that have been demonstratively effective in communicating with low-literate patients. This book: increases the understanding of the problem of low health literacy and presents solutions and resources for health care providers; provides tests to assess literacy levels; offers guidelines for designing and writing educational material for low literacy clients; and, describes alternatives to written forms of patient communication.

Contents:

PREFACE; FOREWORD; Chapter 1; Understanding Health Literacy; Health Literacy Defined; Literacy Surveys in the United States; 'All Around Us'; Seeing the System Through the Patient's Eyes; Texts and Contexts; Dispelling Myths About Low Health Literacy; Why Health Literacy Matters; Spreading the Word, Closing the Gap; Health Literacy: Don't Leave Home Without It.