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Implementation strategies for health literacy related organizational readiness and change
Methods: In-depth interviews were carried out with 11 clinic administrators. Clinics included FQHC's, urban free clinics and rural health clinics in Missouri. Interviews focused on health literacy related activities undertaken by clinics and assessed barriers, facilitators, and strategies that contributed to organizational readiness and change.
Findings: Opportunities for implementing health literacy practices presented themselves through accreditation requirements and external funding opportunities. Implemented health literacy practices included establishing patient portals, selecting easy to read patient materials, community education, outreach programs, and updated discharge and medication distribution. Lack of time and funding were the most common barriers faced during implementation. Staff and providers often resisted change due to being burdened with additional work. Organizations implementing programs that required patient or community participation often struggled to get buy-in from within. Leadership support from administrators and medical directors had to be obtained for changes to be undertaken. Having an internal champion helped facilitate change. To sustain changes, clinic administrators worked one on one with staff, sought and obtained outside funding, utilized existing resources, did stepwise implementation, including members from all staff levels and areas, and provided continued and clear communication.
Conclusion: Despite barriers, organizations enhanced organizational readiness and were able to deploy unique strategies to implement, plan and sustain organizational change to support health literacy.
Learning Areas:
Administration, management, leadershipProvision of health care to the public
Learning Objectives:
List at least three types of health literacy supporting policies or practices implemented in clinics serving underserved patient populations.
List at least three barriers clinics face when implementing health literacy changes.
Discuss at least three strategies health care organizations working with underserved populations have utilized to implement health literacy changes.
Keyword(s): Organizational Change, Health Literacy
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the principal investigator on the project being reported on.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.