Education and Health Literacy

Dear fellow educators, 

The Horowitz Center for Health Literacy is excited to offer a unique toolkit of educational resources for faculty and students in public health, medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, social work, and health and science communication. The toolkit provides an overview of each resource, who it’s for, and how to access it. The Center created four of the five resources, and we also include a well-regarded online resource on the teach-back technique. 

Collectively, these resources support educators to help their students gain essential health literacy knowledge and skills for today’s challenging public health and healthcare environments. Health literacy content knowledge and clear communication skills are critical for all health professionals, even those without direct public contact or patient or client service responsibilities. Gaining this knowledge and learning these skills as undergraduate and graduate students will prepare them to be effective and successful in a wide range of positions in public health, medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, social work, and health and science communication.  

The toolkit also includes a training resource for Community Health Workers (CHW), who may participate in community or academic-based training programs. In Maryland, for example, both non-profit organizations and community colleges offer CHW certification programs. The health literacy content can be integrated in existing CHW curriculum or used as a stand-alone training program or continuing education resource. 

Because the teach-back method is a widely regarded health literacy technique, the toolkit includes a link to a credible online training resource on teach-back. The Horowitz Center teaches the teach-back method and encourages all public health and healthcare students and professionals to learn and apply this method.     

We hope the Tooklit expands health literacy education and training in all relevant disciplines so that students enter the workforce confident and ready to communicate clearly and effectively. We welcome your feedback on the Toolkit, and you can contact our team at healthliteracy@umd.edu.  

Cynthia Baur, PhD

Director, Center for Health Literacy and InfoHub

Who is this for?

College and university faculty who teach in disciplines related to public health, healthcare, social services, and health education and health communication.

Why is this important?

Educators gain foundational knowledge of health literacy and practical skills to effectively teach health literacy.

Overview

An interprofessional faculty team from the University of Maryland Horowitz Center for Health Literacy and the University of Maryland, Baltimore health sciences campus  developed the modules. This training has an interprofessional approach and is relevant for teaching public health, healthcare, social services, and health education and health communication students. Four modules will take 2.5 to 3 hours to complete. 

Contents

Welcome Modules (25 minutes)

• Explains why the modules were developed and describes the format of the modules. University System Maryland President Jay Perman explains why health literacy is important to patient and client care, and faculty team members share why health literacy is important in their discipline.

Module 1 - Introduction to Health Literacy (33 minutes)

• Introduces the topic of health literacy and describes why it is important to the faculty members’ students and the people they serve. It provides examples from different areas of practice that demonstrate how health literacy affects health and health outcomes. 

Module 2 - Recognizing and Eliminating Jargon (19 minutes)

• Explains what jargon is and why it matters so much to what people understand. It gives examples of how to eliminate jargon to support more productive interactions. 

Module 3 - Speaking so Patients, Clients, and Others Can Understand (23 minutes)

• Discusses how health care providers, public health professionals, and social workers can speak so that their listeners understand the information they have been given. It describes practices to support comprehension. 

Module 4 - Selecting Written Health Information Materials (33 minutes)

• Explains the basic clear communication elements to look for when selecting written health information materials for patients and clients. 

Example Videos that Demonstrate Plain Language and the Teach-back Method

• This folder has two sets of videos that demonstrate providers explaining health information using jargon and not confirming understanding and then explaining health information using plain language and using the teach-back method. The videos explain why it is important to get the HPV vaccine and how to protect against skin cancer.
• There are two oral health videos. The first demonstrates how to brush a child’s teeth and the second explains steps to prevent cavities. 

Feedback Survey (required)

Who is this for?

Faculty who develop co-curricular activities for undergraduate students are looking to strengthen their health communication skills.

Why is this important?

Students will be able to create health information that is easy to find, understand, and use.

Overview

The Horowitz Center for Health Literacy developed a co-curricular activity for University of Maryland, School of Public Health undergraduates to build essential communication skills for public health work. Educators can create a Health Literacy Badge tailored to their students’ needs. The Badge focuses on plain language and health literacy best practices to help prepare students for careers in diverse public health settings. Students explore both personal and organizational health literacy, gaining insights into how individuals and systems influence the ability to access, understand, and use health information. 

Contents and Competencies

The Health Literacy Badge consists of 7 modules with 10 hours of learning activities.

There are 8 hours of required activities and 2 hours of optional activities.

• The required activities include listening to webinars and podcasts, revising health materials, and reading a policy document.
• The optional activities include listening to webinars and podcasts and attending a local health improvement coalition meeting or conference. 
• Students must receive an 80% or higher OVERALL to receive their badge.

After students complete the Badge, they will be able to

1. Describe how health literacy affects health status and outcomes.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of plain language by revising the main message and call to action for a health material.
3. Explain their responsibilities as health professionals to improve health literacy. 

Who is this for?

College and university faculty who teach in disciplines related to public health, healthcare, social services, and health education and health communication.

Why is this important?

The syllabi provide faculty with information on course design, content, assignments and resources. Faculty can gain insights into how to teach health literacy and adapt them to their own teaching style and context. 

Overview

Horowitz Center for Health Literacy faculty teach two undergraduate courses and one graduate course in health literacy. The undergraduate and in-person graduate courses are based on 15-week semesters, and the online graduate course is a 6-week asynchronous summer session.  

Undergraduate courses

Health Literacy in Action (In-person)

This course introduces students to the concept of health literacy and guides them in developing the knowledge and skills to advocate for themselves, family, friends, neighborhood and community, and engage productively with healthcare providers, systems, and policy. Students explore perspectives of health information and communication, and different pathways and strategies to help create the conditions for informed and engaged individuals and communities.

 In-person syllabus: https://umd.box.com/s/0zk2e0inlsaepfz27tw8aduoq1a6ux1d 

Global Health Literacy (In-person)

The ability to access, understand, appraise, and use information is critical for the improved health and well being of populations around the world. This course introduces students to health literacy research and practice and helps them understand the role of health literacy in population health. It focuses on contemporary global health challenges including chronic and infectious diseases and climate-related disasters. Students explore and gain skills related to health communication and education.

In-person syllabus: https://umd.box.com/s/4kavjt0iayn69dw3ch0pxkgi5cvejxqq 

Graduate course

Health Literacy (In-person and online syllabi)

This course introduces students to health literacy research, practice, and skills. It helps students understand how health literacy is both a barrier and an asset for health and how health literacy affects a wide range of outcomes. Students learn the basics of health literacy concepts, models, and research methods, and discuss health literacy research and evaluation in clinical, public health, and community settings. Students study key health topics, populations, and contexts for health literacy research and practice. The course describes professional skills necessary for effective public health communication practice and provides opportunities to practice the skills. The implications of research for public health practice, policy, and consumer/patient interventions and behavior are integrated so that public health practitioners and researchers are prepared to address health literacy in their future work. This course is taught online during the summer and in-person in the fall semester, the online syllabus is slightly different from the in-person syllabus. Students use their health literacy knowledge and skills in their capstone projects and dissertation research.

In-person syllabus: https://umd.box.com/s/rtrq9epyuu3w2pd90upe2xz4o9mw0aac 

Online syllabus: https://umd.box.com/s/0af1h3mxobhc2hg5ozhewo6j7ffwu0do 

Who is this for?

Community Health Workers play a vital role in bridging the gap between healthcare systems and the communities they serve. CHWs provide culturally appropriate education, support, and advocacy that improves access to care, promotes health equity, and empowers individuals to make informed health decisions. 

Why is this important?

CHWs will be more prepared to educate and empower community members to access and use health services. 

Overview

The Horowitz Center for Health Literacy offers an online, on-demand training series for CHWs through the University of Maryland College Park’s Open Learning Platform. The course introduces CHWs to the fundamentals of health literacy and helps build the knowledge and skills needed to effectively support community members in understanding and using health information and available services. The training consists of 6 modules and takes 2.5 to 3 hours to complete. CHWs must complete the quiz after reviewing all 6 modules to receive a certificate. The training is available for a $10  technology fee.

Content

Module 1 - Intro to Health Literacy for CHWs (25 minutes)

• Provides an overview of the vital role CHWs play in supporting their communities, defines health literacy, and explores how improving health literacy can enhance communication and health outcomes. 

Module 2 - Outreach (22 minutes)

• Explains how outreach helps communities and how good communication improves access to information. CHWs learn three outreach steps: plan, be present, and reflect and respond, along with the benefits of providing services that respect different cultures and languages. 

Module 3 - Plain Language (21 minutes)

• Explains the importance of using plain language and how it helps people understand a message the first time they hear or read it. This module introduces plain language and three strategies to use it when communicating with community members. 

Module 4 - Verbal Communication (19 minutes)

• Covers verbal communication, its benefits and challenges, and techniques to improve it. CHWs learn three strategies to make communication clearer, more respectful, and more empathetic. 

Module 5 - Finding, Evaluating, and Sharing Information (22 minutes)

• Discusses how to find reliable health information and communicate with community members who may be misinformed. CHWs learn the importance of accuracy, how to identify misinformation, and ways to address it respectfully to community members. 

Module 6 - A Cultural Approach to Health Literacy in the Field (28 minutes)

• Explores how CHWs can use their language and cultural experiences to support diverse communities. They learn about cultural responsiveness, cultural competence, cultural humility, and Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS). 

Who is this for?

Faculty members, graduate and undergraduate students looking to strengthen their ability to effectively communicate with patients.

Why is this important?

Always use Teach-Back! Training was developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHA). A team of health literacy experts created an interactive module to help learners identify and use key elements of teach-back and plain language to promote health equity, safety, and quality, and advance organizational health literacy.  The Teach-Back Method is a simple yet powerful way to know if a message was understood by asking the listener to explain the information given to them in their own words. 

Teach-Back Methods Training