Health Literacy – Translation of Patient Education Materials

India being a country of linguistically diverse population the importance of translating health education material cannot be undermined.  There have been many attempts in modern times to make regional language health information available to the masses.  One common thread which runs throughout the country is the national language - Hindi. We believe that access to researched, evidence-based health information is a right of every citizen of our country !

Health Education Library for People will be participating in the Health Literacy Month - October'12 to bring about awareness and emphasize on the importance of health literacy.

Putting Patients First Through Health Literacy - conference scheduled to be held on Sunday, 2 Dec is a step forward in this direction.  Please visit our conference website: www.patientpower.in for complete details on how to register.

Caring for Patients With Limited Health Literacy

Healthwise: Smart Decisions: Know Your Options

Smart Decisions About Surgery

See a list of Decision Points about surgeries. Decision Points are designed to guide you through key health decisions, combining medical information with your personal values to make a wise health decision.

Surgery tends to come with high costs and risks. When the choice to have surgery is not clear, good decisions are even more important.

Learn the facts

• What is the name of the surgery? Get a description of the surgery.
• Why does your doctor think you need the surgery?
• Are there other treatments you could try first?
• Is this surgery the common treatment for this problem? Are there other types of surgery?

Use this surgery information form (What is a PDF document?) to help you.

Consider the risks and benefits

• How might surgery help you?
• How many similar surgeries has this doctor performed? How many surgeries like this are done at this hospital or medical center?
• What results would you have to get from the surgery for you to consider it a success? How likely are those results?
• What can go wrong if you have surgery? How often does this happen?
• How long would it take to recover from surgery? How much time off would you have to take? What kind of rehab would you need?
• What happens in the short term if you don't have surgery? What might happen over the long run if you don't have it?
• If you need surgery, where should you have it? How can you reduce the chance of an error?

Ask about costs

• How much does the surgery cost? How can you find out?
• Can it be done on an outpatient basis, and is that less expensive?

Talk to your doctor

• How much does the problem really bother you? Are you willing to put up with the symptoms to avoid surgery?
• What are your concerns about the surgery?
• Do you want to have the surgery at this time?
• Do you want a second opinion? Second opinions are helpful if you have any doubt that the surgery proposed is the best option for your problem. If you want a second opinion, ask your primary doctor or surgeon to recommend another specialist. Ask that your test results be sent to the second doctor. Consider getting an opinion from a different type of doctor who treats similar problems.

For more information, see the topic Surgery: What to Expect.

• Smart Decisions About Medicines
• Smart Decisions About Other Health Issues

Last Revised: August 17, 2011

Author: Healthwise Staff

Medical Review: Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine & Brian D. O'Brien, MD - Internal Medicine

Invitation to Promote Your NGO: Health Literacy@HELP

Health Education Library for People (HELP) invites you to be a part of the health literacy campaign.  If you think your NGO is in anyway involved in creating awareness on health related matters or directly working towards improving health literacy then this forum is meant just for you.  Be a part of the 2 month long pre-conference activities.We would love to know more about your work in this direction.

For this purpose, HELP will be organizing talks by such reputed organizations like yours.  You may send your representative to give a short presentation on the kind of work your NGO does or is planning to do in future which will help in improving health literacy.

Your talk will be for an approximate duration of 1 hour.  We will video record the talk and put it up on your page on our website.  All our readers (around 12,000) will be intimated to attend your talk.  These pre-conference talks will be scheduled during the second half of Sep and October’12.  In November’12 we will hold an E-poster competition in which you may send in your entries.  We will send you separate guidelines on this.

A little more on our plans…..

Putting Patients First through Health Literacy  conference has been scheduled for Sunday, 2nd December’12 at Nehru Center at 10.30a.m. to 1.p.m.

The conference will be followed by a health literacy workshop in the afternoon. Helen Osborne, President, Health Literacy Consultant from US has been invited to conduct this workshop. There are only 10 seats reserved for NGOs.  Other seats will be filled in by participating doctors and people from the healthcare industry.

NGOs interested in holding pre-conference seminars at HELP may please register by clicking on the box below or contact Anjoo or Asma at HELP : 22031133.

Healthwise Handbook - When Books Are Best

When Books Are Best

“Print-to-Web” self-care books provide 

new value in an e-health world.

Donald W. Kemper, MPH

Chairman and CEO,

Healthwise

Founding Chair,

IxCenter Board of Directors

With thanks to Tracey Willnerd 

for research and editorial assistance

http://www.healthwise.org/docs/DOCUMENT/8203.pdf

Healthwise - Millions of People Served; Millions of Dollars Saved

Help people with their common health problems and avoid unnecessary health costs with Healthwise^®print guides. Millions of people use the Healthwise^® Handbook, our brochures, and our workbooks to make better health decisions. And that has translated into major savings for organizations like yours.

Provide practical, reliable health information for the home

When people have urgent medical questions, many of them don’t want to spend time browsing the Internet for answers. Maybe it’s because they lack Internet skills or an Internet connection. Maybe they dread sorting through the sheer volume of health content out there. Maybe they just prefer to grab a book and start reading.

Now in its 18th edition, the Healthwise Handbook has practical, up-to-date, easy-to-understand information on common health problems, from pinkeye to sunburn. Another volume, Healthwise^® for Life, is geared to the special health concerns of people age 50 and over.

We also offer brochures and workbooks for high-impact conditions such as high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, and more.

Colorfully illustrated, written in plain language, and medically accurate, Healthwise print guides make practical health information accessible anytime day or night—no Internet connection required.

Deliver a custom benefit to target populations

Putting Healthwise print guides into people’s homes couldn’t be easier. Purchase them fully printed and ready to distribute. Or customize them with your own branding to direct people to your programs and services.

Our print guides are used by nearly 33 million people, including families, older adults, new parents, the underinsured, and the uninsured. Choose from:

• Healthwise Handbook for families.
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• La salud en casa for Spanish speakers.
• Brochures and workbooks that help people learn to manage their chronic conditions and other challenging health concerns.

However you use them, Healthwise print guides are a tangible reminder to people of your commitment to their health.

Unlock even more information by connecting online

Healthwise Handbook, Healthwise for Life, and our other print guides all stand out from other home health care books. Providing quick answers to the most common questions, they’re great resources on their own.

But unlike other print materials, Healthwise guides don’t stop at the printed page. Our exclusive Go-to-Web codes link to even more content in the Healthwise^®Knowledgebase. Our print guides give people instant access to a universe of valuable content and tools to help them treat ordinary ailments at home.

Increased self-care has been proven to save organizations millions of dollars—and it can lower your costs too.

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Demo NowPut a book full of action-oriented health information in people’s hands—and reinforce your brand—with Healthwise Print Guides.

Turn a few pages of the

Healthwise Handbook

Healthwise - Reinforce care with targeted print and email materials

Healthwise^® Care Support Pages provide essential follow-up information for your care and disease management interventions. These engaging, easy-to-understand materials offer targeted information on hundreds of health issues ranging from wellness to prevention to chronic conditions.

Deliver effective health education in the right doses

Healthwise Care Support Pages are 1-page, 2-sided, full-color follow-up resources for people who need information after talking with a health coach.

Using plain, straightforward language and engaging illustrations, Care Support Pages help people understand the information the first time they read it. They’re action-oriented, answering “how” questions: How do I do a finger-stick test for diabetes? How do I manage my high blood pressure? How can I eat right and lose weight?

Member mailings cover hundreds of topics, on everything from asthma to osteoarthritis. But each one focuses on the care information that people need to know for their specific issue.

Connect and reinforce to improve health outcomes

Deliver the information your members need to manage their health. Prescribe Care Support Pages to your members through online delivery or with short, economical printouts. Provide these member mailings for:

• Follow-up to triage to reinforce information covered during the call.
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• Each step in your care plans to improve people’s health and well-being.

To tie Care Support Pages to your other programs and initiatives, you can customize these mailings with your own branding and messages.

Developed with your needs in mind

Healthwise develops Care Support Pages in close collaboration with care and disease management organizations, to ensure that they provide just the right information to improve outcomes.

As part of our Care Management Solution, relevant Care Support Pages are connected to the content and tools used by health coaches while on the phone. It’s easy for health coaches to select print or electronic fulfillments, so delivering education is more efficient and cost-effective than ever before.

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Demo NowReinforce the education your members get from your care management programs and call center interventions—with Healthwise Care Support Pages.