Alaskan Health Literacy Collaborative: Working together to increase health literacy and cultural competence in cancer communication with Alaskan women

INTRODUCTION: According to US Healthy People 2010, health literacy is “the degree to which people can obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services that they need to make appropriate health decisions.” The U.S. Office of Minority Health defines cultural and linguistic competence as “a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency or among professionals that enables effective work in cross-cultural situations.” So both client health literacy and system cultural competence are important barriers to effective health service delivery and improved health outcomes. To address these issues, partnerships from an Alaskan pilot study evolved into a Health Literacy Collaborative comprised of community members, academic investigators, local non-profit agencies (e.g. Anchorage Literacy Project), and local government agencies and health service providers.

METHODS: A pilot study assessed cultural competency of health care providers (through key informant interviews) and the health literacy skills of women (using Newest Vital Sign). Data from the pilot study indicated areas of need and spurred discussion of intervention opportunities among community partners to better address service gaps and cultural misunderstandings.

RESULTS: Monthly face-to-face meetings and teleconferences resulted in first cancer screening outreach at the literacy project and ongoing plans to collaborate on new health literacy curriculum and peer educator/cultural broker training shared among collaborating partners. Lessons learned from the diverse perspectives of all participants will be shared.