Family Health - Week 8 Discussion 1st REPLY

Jessica Alper posted

Thoughts on AHRQ website

The AHRQ website is a great resource to help guide the providers on how to improve the health outcomes of all the patients. It explains what health literacy is, the different types of tools that can be used, various professional education and training, health literacy publications, patient engagement and education, as well as research tools, data, and funding. This page is full of information that can be really useful in the community. Health literacy is so important for providers to know and understand. Patients must be able to understand their condition in very easy terminology so they can be part of their own plan of care. The AHRQ Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit, second edition, allows providers in primary care settings to “reduce the complexity of health care, increase patient understanding of health information, and enhance support for patients of all health literacy levels” (AHRQ Health, 2020). This tool is specifically very important in reaching the goal of simplifying and confirming the understanding of each patient, to make the healthcare system easy to navigate, as well as supporting the patients’ powers to optimize their health. 

Strategies to improve health literacy

            In order to improve health literacy, it is recommended to simply assume everyone has difficulty understanding the medical environment in which all patients can thrive. The AHRQ Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit provides “evidence-based guidance to adults and pediatric practices to ensure that systems are in place to promote better understanding by all patients, not just those you think need extra assistance” (AHRQ Health, 2020). This tool is composed of 21 subparts that address the spoken communication, written communication, self-management and empowerment, as well as supportive systems. 

            An additional tool that can help with health literacy is the AHRQ Easy to Understand Telehealth Consent Form. This consent is easy to understand and can help providers in obtaining informed consents for telehealth visits. The Re-Engineered Discharge Toolkit is a tool that can be used to help re-design the discharge process while using patient safety strategies (AHRQ Health, 2020). If the patient speaks a different language than English, it is important for the providers to use the appropriate resources in which a translator may be used. The AHRQ website is a great website that has all the right resources and providers should be able to use it in order to better guide and help the patients thrive with their health outcomes.  

References

AHRQ health literacy universal precautions toolkit. (2020). AHRQ: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.  https://www.ahrq.gov/health-literacy/improve/precautions/index.html

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