{"id":1905,"date":"2014-10-09T13:52:36","date_gmt":"2014-10-09T20:52:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nnlm.gov\/evaluation\/blog\/?p=1905"},"modified":"2019-09-24T10:13:30","modified_gmt":"2019-09-24T17:13:30","slug":"elegantly-simple-evaluation-talking-to-doctors-about-patient-health-literacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/nec\/2014\/10\/09\/elegantly-simple-evaluation-talking-to-doctors-about-patient-health-literacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Elegantly Simple Evaluation: Talking to Health Care Providers about Patient Health Literacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Yawar Ali and Cindy Olney<\/p>\n

As the child of a physician living in South Texas,\u00a0I’ve\u00a0witnessed a deficiency of health literacy in patients. I volunteered in my dad\u2019s clinic over spring break. I also participated on a medical relief trip with my father to a nonprofit charitable\u00a0hospital in Pakistan. At both places, I witnessed difficulty in patient health literacy. \u2013 Yawar Ali<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>In June 2014, Yawar Ali, a rising junior from the South Texas High School for Health Professions, taught physicians and physician assistants in his father\u2019s medical clinics about patient health literacy. He also introduced them to MedlinePlus as an important tool for their patients. Yawar\u00a0evaluated his project and discovered valuable insight that helped him improve the impact of his project.<\/p>\n

Yawar conducted this health information outreach project as an internship offered through the \u00a0\u00a1VIVA!<\/a> (Vital Information for a Virtual Age) project.\u00a0 \u00a1VIVA! is a high school-based initiative in which students are trained to promote MedlinePlus<\/a> to their classmates, teachers, families, and community members.\u00a0 It is a student organization led by librarians of the South Texas Independent School District, located in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. The National Library of Medicine (NLM) funds the project.<\/p>\n

He developed his presentation using health literacy materials available through the Medical Library Association and presented to three doctors and three PAs.\u00a0 He taught them seven steps for addressing low patient health literacy and introduced them to MedlinePlus.<\/p>\n

Yawar incorporated elegantly simple evaluation techniques<\/em>\u00a0into his project. Right after the presentation, he\u00a0asked participants to complete a short evaluation form, asking them how likely they were to use the steps and promote MedlinePlus to patients.\u00a0 They all responded positively, indicating good intentions.<\/p>\n

Two weeks after the training, Yawar visited all of the\u00a0health care providers to conduct brief semi-structured interviews. He asked if they had tried the steps and collected their feedback on the techniques. He also checked to see\u00a0if they had promoted MedlinePlus to their patients. With some persistence, he was able to conduct a complete interview with each participant.<\/p>\n

The feedback he received is of interest to anyone hoping to initiate health information outreach in partnership with primary care clinics, particularly in medically underserved areas:<\/p>\n