People with low health literacy have healthcare costs 4 times higher than those with high health literacy, are less adherent to treatment recommendations, more likely to use the emergency room, and have higher rates of readmissions. Today’s health and patient education materials continue to be written and communicated in a unidimensional, hard to understand, non-engaging format. There is a major gap in the current approach to improving personal health literacy as it typically lacks the use of behavioral science and learning theory, it tends to not be personalized or highly relevant, and it lacks multimedia formats including video, infographics, and deep format content. This highly dynamic panel will set the context for the role health literacy plays in engagement, belonging, and well-being and provide specific employer and community examples. The panel will present experience with gaming casinos' engagement with Native American employees and their community's use of a health literacy platform and resulting impacts on key metrics such as health knowledge, confidence to navigate the system, and health behaviors. Another example of health literacy in action will be based on the experience with a community-based health literacy initiative that serves both underserved populations as well as the business community by building a healthier population, a sense of belonging, and a stronger employee base.
Learning objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Describe the 3 pillars of health literacy 2.0 and the link between health literacy and belonging.
2. Explain how health literacy can support underserved populations.
3. Discuss the business case and applications of health literacy initiatives for employers. 1 CECH Available