141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

277685
Building health communication in the healthcare professional

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Ilya Plotkin, MA , TRAIN, Public Health Foundation, Washington, DC
Len Epstein, MSW , HHS/HRSA/OA/Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities, Rockville, MD
Effective communication is vital to quality public health/healthcare services. A partnership between Public Health Foundation (PHF), a non-profit organization dedicated to achieving healthy communities, and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) spawned an online course on cross-cultural communication and health literacy – Effective Communication Tools for Healthcare Professionals (ECTHP). This free 6-unit course has been enhanced to meet the requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by integrating health literacy, cross-cultural communication and language access. Now included are also cultural, linguistic, and ethnic specific tools and resources (provider-patient communication ethnic, LGBT and patients with disabilities).

ECTHP deploys through TRAIN (www.train.org), PHF's web-based learning management network. Key elements of online platforms, including long-term cost efficiency and prolonged shelf life, and TRAIN in particular, including its national presence and public health objectives, facilitated the course's web-based deployment. Since its launch, over 28,500 professionals have registered to take ECTHP and approximately 19,700 have completed the course.

Data indicate that learners passed HRSA's minimum requirements while course evaluations illustrate the agreement regarding the efficacy of cross-cultural communication and health literacy training. ECTHP provides professionals with opportunities to refine effective communication skills in a setting and time of their choice.

Learning Areas:
Diversity and culture
Public health or related education

Learning Objectives:
Describe gaps and barriers prevalent in cross-cultural communication and health literacy Demonstrate the technological and financial benefits of disseminating cross-cultural health communication training through TRAIN Discuss opportunities for related cross-cultural and health literacy training

Keywords: Health Literacy, Distance Learning

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to present this session because I have worked on the TRAIN Team for over 5 years, and more than three years as the TRAIN Program Administrator. In this position, I continuously communicate with affiliate organizations in the TRAIN network, including 25 state health departments, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC’s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, and the Medical Reserve Corps.
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.