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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Rima Rudd, MSPH, ScD, Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Kresge 719, Boston, MA 02115, 617 432 1135, rrudd@hsph.harvard.edu

Critical information, designed by the government and developed for citizens should be accessible to all. Unnecessarily constructed communication barriers represent a violation of human rights and raise issues of social justice. The presenter argues that materials designed and developed for public use should reflect what is known and published about literacy skills of US adults. Furthermore, materials related to public health services and entitlement programs should be accessible to the public and should, at minimum match average skills. The presenter offers assessments of the Medicare D materials as well as findings related to the literacy skills of US elders. This presentation is linked to the Institute of Medicine report on health literacy and focuses on both social demands and individuals' skills. Elements of the Medicare D materials are analyzed in light of documented skills of US adults.

Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to

• describe literacy skills of US adults based on findings from the 1993 report on NALS, the 2004 report on HALS, and the 2005 report on NAAL.
• Identify literacy related barriers in the Medicare Part D documents and applications
• Delineate three recommendations for change
• Describe the link between literacy and rights.

Keywords: Health Literacy, Advocacy

Related Web page: www.hsph.harvard.edu/healthliteracy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation