Programs & Resource Archive
Health Literacy, Language Access and More
ACU is committed to ensuring that safety net providers have access to current, appropriate knowledge, innovations and strategies; and possess the skills and competencies to provide quality care and patient safety in the most cost-efficient manner. ACU furthermore supports the concepts of patient-centeredness and patient activation in its efforts to provide information, resources, and tools to providers who diligently work to provide health care homes to the increasing number of medically underserved and the most disadvantaged while respecting a patient’s dignity and beliefs. As a result of this commitment, all of its programs, initiatives and activities are examined taking into consider the implications of cross-cutting issues – health literacy, language access, and more.
This commitment compliments the recent UN declaration which included language on health literacy which states “We stress that health literacy is an important factor in ensuring significant health outcomes and in this regard call for the development of appropriate action plans to promote health literacy.”
ACU Health Literacy Training Program
ACU previously developed a training program designed to teach health clinic staff how to incorporate best practices in health literacy, language access, and more in caring for the underserved. The program was pilot tested at Loudoun County Community Health Center, a federally qualified health care center in Leesburg, Va., serving those with limited or no insurance.
Resources
ACU Prerecorded Webinar
Health Literacy: Implications for the Dental Setting, Lois Wessel, RN, CFNP, ACU Associate Director for Programs, Nicole Holland, DDS, ACU Board Member. Presented April 5, 2013 in partnership with the National Network for Oral Health Access (NNOHA).
ACU Research Initiatives
Health Literacy Practices in Primary Care Settings: Examples From the Field, Barrett, SE, Puryear JS, Westpheling K., The Commonwealth Fund, January 2008 (full text).
Language Access Understanding the Barriers and Challenges in Primary Care Settings. Perspectives from the Field, Barrett, SE, Dyer, C, Westpheling, K., June 2008 (PDF).
ACU Columns
Health Literacy: Improving Quality of Care in Primary Care Settings*
Sharon E. Barrett, MS, Doctoral Candidate, MSUPHP, Jennifer Sheen Puryear, MPH
