​8:15 am - 8:30 am

Lisa Fitzpatrick, MD, MPA, MPH
DC Department of Health Care Finance

The term “community” has many different meanings. However you define it, there is a certain power that comes with being part of a group. But how do you leverage that power to better community health and wellness? What role does organizing, advocacy, and policy play? And finally, how can effective communication help to achieve health equity?

8:30 am - 9:30 am

​Moderator: Liza Fitzpatrick, MD, MPA, MPH, DC Department of Health Care Finance

​Panelists

• Ioana Staiculescu, MPH, Center for Health Policy
• Joseph Quintana, United American Indian Involvement, Inc.
• Steve Delgado, Project Kinship

Listen as representatives of several communities candidly discuss the gap between the perception and reality of life in their community. This panel will highlight the real struggles of hidden populations, to empower you to seek out community voices to inform your program planning.

9:30 am - 10:30 am

Moderator: Cynthia Baur, PhD, Horowitz Center for Health Literacy

​Panelists

• David DeLeon, City of La Habra
• Heng Lam Foong, Asian Americans Advancing Justice
• Regeanie Corona, Advancing Business Strategies, LLC

Panelists will discuss their innovative collaborations to reach the goal of increased health and equity. Hear examples of best practices and lessons learned from successful collaborations that support communities.

Morning: 10:45 am - 12:15 pm
Or afternoon: 3:15 pm - 4:45 pm

Cliff Coleman, MD, MPH
Oregon Health and Science University

Clear communication and plain language principles for written health information materials have been well-described, and are taught in a variety of settings. Very little, however, has been done to improve healthcare professionals’ skills at writing directly to patients and caregivers. Clinicians, nurses, medical assistants, and other health professionals often must produce customized written information for patients – test results letters, “After Visit Summaries”, hospital and Emergency Department “Discharge Summaries”, and email communications – quickly at the point of care. This skill-building workshop will apply evidence-based practices to help participants efficiently create customized written messages.

Morning: 10:45 am - 12:15 pm
Or afternoon: 3:15 pm - 4:45 pm

Steven Sparks, MS and Kari LaScala, JD
Wisconsin Health Literacy

Effective use of prescription medication is a health literacy challenge. Medications can be confusing, and labels can lead to misunderstanding and non-adherence. Research shows easier-to-read labels can improve medication use, especially for patients with low health literacy. This session will help attendees understand how health literacy affects medication use, how patients feel about labels, how consumers can be educated to more effectively use medications and how label formatting improves understanding. Included are case studies on a program to educate consumers on medication use and the introduction of patient-centered label standards from the United States Pharmacopoeia in 3 pilot pharmacy systems.

Morning: 10:45 am - 12:15 pm
Or afternoon: 3:15 pm - 4:45 pm

Julie McKinney, MS
Exceptional Lives, Inc.

While there are many health literate resources, there is still a large gap in filling the information needs of parents of children with disabilities. These families are faced with complex medical and educational choices and must navigate extremely complex processes in order to get the services, benefits, and education that their children are entitled to.

In this session, we will demonstrate the free, online, interactive Guides created by Exceptional Lives. These plain language Guides walk parents through processes like getting Early Intervention, writing an IEP (individualized education plan), or making the most of their health insurance.

Morning: 10:45 am - 12:15 pm
Or afternoon: 3:15 pm - 4:45 pm

Catina O’Leary, PhD, LMSW and Amy Waterman, PhD
Health Literacy Media and UCLA, respectively

People living with complex health conditions must make multiple treatment choices and determine how best to involve their support systems at different points in time. Using the case example of the Explore Transplant family of educational resources, this session will delineate strategies for layering best evidence health literacy practices. A national collaborative designed four educational resources for delivery using multiple platforms for multiple patient, family and living donor audiences. The partners brought diverse perspectives to the design of materials. Session will highlight technical and human challenges and lessons learned when implementing and disseminating health literacy practices on a national scale.

12:30 pm - 1:50 pm

During the luncheon we will honor people that have made outstanding achievements in health literacy by presenting them with an IHA Health Literacy Award. We will also give an overview of discussions from the Health Literacy Listserv in the past year and advancements in the health literacy field internationally.

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Moderator: Viki Lorraine, MS, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services

​Panelists

• Ioana Staiculescu, MPH, Center for Health Policy
• David Young, DVM, MS, PhD, CRC, Montana State University
• Annamore Matambanadzo, PhD, MEd, BEd, Advance African Development, Inc.

Panelists will discuss strategies to move from program planning to successful implementation in different community settings. Each panelist will discuss how they engaged their communities and successes, failures, and lessons learned from the implementation of their program.

6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Enjoy hot appetizers while visiting and networking with those that have developed effective health literacy strategies.

9:00 am - 9:55 am

Julie McKinney, MS
Exceptional Lives, Inc. / Institute for Healthcare Advancement

Adult basic education (ABE) programs have been working on health literacy skills for decades, and they have had much success as trusted community service organizations. The population they serve has the greatest health literacy challenges, yet also the most significant health needs. As we look at the two-way street of health literacy and at the efforts from the healthcare end to improve our communication and engagement with the most vulnerable populations, we can look to ABE programs as a source of expertise and partnership. In this session, we will describe ABE programs and show how they can work with healthcare, public health and other organizations to reach these communities effectively, and help attain the goals of all those involved, especially those of the community!

Morning: 10:00 am - 11:30 am
Or afternoon: 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm

​Rebecca Wright
CommunicateHealth

We rely heavily on the written word for health communication, especially for print, online, and mobile health education. Yet we know that providing people with information and telling them how they should behave is not enough to bring about behavior change. This hands-on workshop will discuss strategies to write and design health information in a way that motivates people to take action – without triggering information overload in patients with limited health literacy skills.

Morning: 10:00 am - 11:30 am
Or afternoon: 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm

Nicole Pashka, MS, CRC, CPRP, LCPC and Lisa Razzano, PhD, CPRP
Thresholds and University of Illinois, Chicago, respectively

Individuals with serious mental illnesses experience disparate rates of chronic physical illnesses including cardiovascular, respiratory, metabolic, and infectious diseases. This session will report on the state of health literacy related to physical co-morbidities in this population, highlight ongoing health risks, discuss strategies to design and implement health management in key areas, and discuss opportunities to improve workforce competencies regarding promoting concurrent mental health and physical wellness. The session will review results of research regarding self-management and other health practices, discuss tools to improve health literacy, and examine methods to implement and sustain these services within diverse community mental health settings.

Morning: 10:00 am - 11:30 am
Or afternoon: 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm

Laurie Myers, MBA
Merck & Co., Inc.

This session will model specific strategies to gain the commitment of senior leaders to commit to health literacy. Myers will explore this opportunity from several angles, including: alignment to mission, improved satisfaction and comprehension of people served, and business opportunity. Myers will model this from her own company, but the examples will be broadly applicable to many types of healthcare organizations. At the end of this hands-on session, attendees will brainstorm ideas, clearly articulate the case for senior leadership commitment, and leave with specific ideas for implementing this approach in their own organizations.

Morning: 10:00 am - 11:30 am
Or afternoon: 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm

Amy Fellows, MPH and Liz Salmi
We Can Do Better / OpenNotes and OpenNotes, respectively

​As a patient, you have the right to read the notes your doctor or clinician writes about you during or after your appointment. Having the chance to read and discuss those notes with your doctor or family member can help you take better control of your health and health care. As a healthcare professional, you may build better relationships with your patients and take better care of them when you share your visit notes. OpenNotes is a national initiative working to give patients access to the visit notes written by their doctors, nurses, or other clinicians currently at 19 million patients.

11:45 am - 12:45 pm

2:30 pm - 3:00 pm

Michael Villaire, MSLM and Rima Rudd, ScD
Institute for Healthcare Advancement and Harvard University, respectively

Our closing keynote serves as a conference wrap up. Join us as we review key concepts and takeaways from our 17th Annual Health Literacy Conference.