SAM - Suitability Assessment of Materials — for evaluation of health-related information for adults —  Abstract
SAM, the Suitability Assessment of Materials instrument offers a systematic method to objectively assess the suitability of health information materials for a particular audience in a short time. SAM guides you to rate materials on factors that affect readability (the relative difficulty of decoding the words and comprehension (the relative difficulty of understanding meaning) in six areas. (read the whole article)

Reviewer's Guide to Evaluating Health Information Materials — Abstract
The purpose of this Guide is to aid the reviewer to check the fit between health information material and the learners who will use the material. The first step is to profile the learners. Next, the Guide asks you to visualize the learners using the material so you can work from their point of view. The Reviewer's Checklist guides you to consider attributes that make materials suitable and effective for a particular learner population.
(read the whole article) 

Community-Based Doula's Make a Difference in Indiana — Abstract
The Indiana Perinatal Network is collaborating with the Healthy Families Indiana MOM Project to implement the Community-Based Doula program in Indianapolis, Indiana... The doulas are committed to positively impacting the lives of the families they serve, and the Beginnings Guides have helped make this possible. (read the whole article) 

Help Dr. Mom avoid overdoses of Tylenol — Abstract
Tylenol is safe, effective, and popular. And overdoses can cause nausea and liver damage. Sixty-six US regional poison control centers reported administering an antidote in 10,000 cases of acetaminophen overdose. Part of the problem is in packaging and health literacy. Parents with low literacy skills often have difficulty determining proper doses. (read the whole article)  

FONBAYS: A Simple Method for Enhancing Readability of Patient Information
José J. Calderón, Sandra Smith, and Richard S. Baker
Abstract
The article introduces FONBAYS, a tool that will help determine readability by revealing words that, when used in writing, create long, run-on sentences. FONBAYS is an acronym meaning: For, Or, Nor, But, And, Yet, So. In essence, when you come across a FONBAYS word, it is your signal to replace the word with punctuation. The result is a reduction in complex sentences, which increases readability. Available on the ABSAME website. (read the whole article).  

Patient Education and Literacy — Abstract
This chapter describes two literacy problems plaguing the health care system at the turn of the millennium: hypoliteracy and hyperliteracy. Hypoliteracy (low literacy) refers to undeveloped or atrophied literacy skills. Hypoliteracy negatively affects health through lack of knowledge, resources, and empowerment. Hypoliteracy leaves patients unable to make sense of clinicians’ instructions and unprepared to marshal the resources of an increasingly complex and technological health care system. Hyperliteracy refers to extremely high literacy, which can leave clinicians unable to communicate effectively with most patients. This chapter focuses on information necessary to clinicians to assist patients with low literacy levels while improving communication to all patients. After reading this chapter, providers will have:

• Explored communication gaps resulting from mismatches in logic, language and experience, that is, differences in the ways clinicians and patients think and talk about health and illness, and differences in their experience of the health care system;
• Considered universal precautions to bridge communication gaps and help all patients understand, recall, and act on information about their conditions, treatments, self-care, and self-management about their conditions, treatments, self-care, and self-management;
• Reviewed their legal responsibility and considered methods to communicate effectively with all patients in a language the patients can understand;
• Identified resources for managing education for patients of all literacy levels. (read the full chapter)

Rethinking Health Literacy — Abstract
In the US the term health literacy is used to describe and explain the relation between patients’ reading skills and their ability to comply with prescribed therapeutic regimens. These fundamental but narrow definitions flow from school-based concepts of literacy and miss much of the deeper meaning and purpose of literacy in adult life. They exclude the concept of functional literacy promoted by the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) and the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL). The literature from other disciplines and nations presents broader definitions of health literacy, which suggest that social support may determine whether low health literacy actually leads to negative outcomes. This article reviews current concepts of health literacy in the US, explores other views, and discusses implications for practice and future research.  (read the whole article) 

How to Evaluate Educational Reading Material — Abstract
Information is like medication. It can increase the effectiveness of most treatments, if it is appropriate to the condition and the patient, and if it does not conflict with something else the patient already is taking. Information you dispense must be compatible with your organizational philosophy and style, risk management practices, and budget. Giving your patient/client materials that she will not read or cannot understand amounts to an expensive gesture. Consider first the factors that determine the reader's ability to learn and incorporate new knowledge and behaviors into everyday living:

• Appearance
• Reading Level
• Comprehension
• Accuracy

(read the whole article)

Developing Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Health Education Materials — Abstract
This article reports results of pilot testing methods to evaluate the suitability of health education materials adapted from English source documents to serve non-English learners. We worked directly with monolingual Spanish speakers to adapt pregnancy health information to serve Spanish-speaking women in the United States. The project aimed to ensure that women of diverse cultures and varied literacy skills have access to essential prenatal care information according to practice guidelines for the United States and Canada, via a tested process for verifying the suitability of translated and tailored information. Specifically, the aim was to increase access to key messages linked to positive birth outcomes (Kogan et al. 1994, Davis & Akridge 1987, Libbus & Sable 1991).

Cloze testing produced quantitative data and Reader Verification Interviews produced qualitative data. Previously validated modifications to the cloze test instrument and standard scoring procedure reveal ability to decipher meaning despite low literacy skills. These modifications produce more useful results when using the cloze test to evaluate the suitability of content and materials rather than the language proficiency of learners. Qualitative data support modified scoring. This project produced culturally and linguistically appropriate learning materials for Spanish-speakers and guidelines for adapting English health education materials to serve the needs of diverse populations.
~ by Sandra Smith & Virginia Gonzales (read the whole article)

Health Literacy — Abstract
This pre-publication chapter from The Behavioral Sciences and Health Care (2nd Edition) presents an overview of literacy and functional health literacy and their impacts on health and healthcare.

1. What is literacy?
2. How is literacy measured and reported?
3. How are literacy and health linked?
4. What is health literacy?
5. What limits and promotes health literacy?
6. Enhancing readability of health information

© Calderon, J.L., & Smith, S.A. (2007) Health Literacy. In: Sahler, O.J.Z., & Carr, J.E. (Eds.) The Behavioral Sciences and Health Care (2nd edition). Cambridge, MA: Hogrefe & Huber (Prepublication Copy) (read the whole article) 

Information Giving: Effects on Birth Outcomes and Patient Satisfaction — Astract
Production pressures make it increasingly less feasible for prenatal care providers to engage in meaningful information giving according to national guidelines. Managed care organizations rely on printed materials to augment information historically provided orally by physicians. This study examines the effects of mailing supplemental health information to mothers at home. Results of an anonymous post-delivery survey indicate that supplemental information giving increases patient satisfaction and recall of key messages linked to birthoutcomes. (read the whole article)

         
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