MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'health literacy'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:01:32 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934166&cid=t_110451_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fcya-tmi-drug-label-warnings-list-dizzying-number-of-adverse-events%2F2011.06.15 Drug labels warn about a mean of 70 adverse events per medication, leading researchers to conclude that the glut of information is confusing patients. Jon Duke, MD, an ACP Member, and other researchers extracted 534,125 adverse drug events from 5,602 product labels. There was a mean of nearly 70 events per label. They found 588 with more than 150 adverse drug events and 84 with more than 300, with the top offender having 525 events listed. This top group included selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, anti-virals, and restless leg syndrome drugs. Labels for the 200 most commonly dispensed medications contained significantly more adverse drug events than others (median, 79 vs. 47; P<.001). By specialty, there were more adverse drug events listed in the fields of neurology (n=168), psyc... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934166 Wed, 15 Jun 2011 12:00:00 +0100 4934166 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4921342&cid=t_110451_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F06%2F10%2Fat-obos-abortion-access-as-a-health-disparity-the-reel-grrls-take-on-comcast-vermonts-new-law-and-more%2F I haven’t been very good recently about linking from here to my posts at Our Bodies Our Blog, where I write about twice a week. Here are some recent posts there: Access to Abortion as a Health Disparities Issue – Highlighting a recent commentary in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, in which the authors call for not just expanded access to prevention of unwanted pregnancies, but the treatment of them – and access to that treatment through reducing barriers to abortion access. “Reel Grrls” Empowers Young Women to Create Videos, Take on Corporate Giants – a bit about what happens when Comcast picks on a bunch of girls learning media skills Vermont Passes Law Providing for Insurance Coverage of Home Births and Midwives, Birth Certificate Cha... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4921342 Fri, 10 Jun 2011 21:12:19 +0100 4921342 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4723754&cid=t_110451_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F04%2F17%2Fsunday-news-round-up-not-intended-to-be-a-factual-statement-edition%2F Actually, the round-up is not a joke – but I have been cracking up at Stephen Colbert’s response (and the resulting tweets) to Republican John Kyl’s way, way off statement on the Senate floor that >90% of what Planned Parenthood does is abortion (it’s more like 3%), and his spokesperson’s response, when Kyl was called on the error, that it “was not intended to be a factual statement.” [more via Know Your Meme] At Our Bodies Our Blog, some discussion of “opiate babies” as the new “crack babies,” with all of the problematic media coverage and decentering of women’s stories and experiences that implies. Also, OBOS is looking for individuals who might want to be on the cover of the 40th anniversary edition of the book,... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4723754 Sun, 17 Apr 2011 16:12:13 +0100 4723754 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4536451&cid=t_110451_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FF1tWDgOPbVU%2F Hello, everyone, and nice to see you again. A mild and sunny day is unfolding here on the Pharmalot corporate campus, where the dogs are barking and a needed cup of stimulation is brewing. What does today hold in store? Meetings and deadlines, no doubt. We relate. So to help you along, we have gathered a few tidbits. Let us know if you come across something noteworthy yourselves. Meanwhile, have a good one… FDA Rejects MS Pill From Merck KGgA (Reuters) Roche Gets EU Backing For Avastin For Breast Cancer (MarketWatch) Celgene Discloses Fed Probe Of Cancer Drug Marketing (Dow Jones) Glaxo Offer To Pay Trainee Tuition Fees (BBC News) Glaxo HIV Drugs Not Tied To Heart Risks (Bloomberg News) Judge Rules Patent Settlement Documents To Remain Sealed (Dow Jones) Poor Health Literacy Leads To... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4536451 Wed, 02 Mar 2011 12:40:14 +0100 4536451 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3812979&cid=t_110451_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fmayo-clinic-center-for-social-media-%25e2%2580%2593-what-it-represents%2F2010.08.02 In a move that may represent a new level of social health organization within large institutions, the Mayo Clinic announced that it has launched The Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media. Mayo intends to “accelerate effective application of social media tools throughout Mayo Clinic and to spur broader and deeper engagement in social media by hospitals, medical professionals and patients to improve health globally.” Look for more information in Mayo’s press release which is diplomatically vague while at the same time lofty and enticing. So what does this really mean? The Mayo Clinic recognizes opportunity. The opportunity to formally offer comprehensive social media training to hospitals and medical schools is huge. The Mayo Clinic can and should leverage what they’ve done both to the... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3812979 Mon, 02 Aug 2010 14:00:50 +0100 3812979 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3246850&cid=t_110451_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F02%2F06%2Finfluencing-public-behaviour-to-improve-health-and-wellbeing%2F Title: Influencing public behaviour to improve health and wellbeing Skinny: Builds on current approaches, using the latest evidence from areas such as behavioural economics and psychology, to suggest ways in which the Government could become more effective in this area, to help people to make healthier choices where they wish to do so. Publisher: DH Size of Publication: 40p. Published: 01/02/2010 Filed under: Grey Literature, NHS Tagged: Behavioural Economics, Choice, Economics, Grey Literature, Health Literacy, Psychology (Source: Fade Library) Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3246850 Sat, 06 Feb 2010 16:19:02 +0100 3246850 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2834307&cid=t_110451_111_f&fid=36048&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAHeartyLife%2F%7E3%2Fns7Z1-MPA_c%2F Diabetes is a disease that can’t be cured yet; it can only be controlled. Part of the control is with your diet, and carbohydrate and caloric intake, so you need to be able to figure this out. If your diabetes is being controlled by insulin, it’s essential that you understand the numbers behind your blood glucose (sugar) levels and the amount of insulin you must take every day. Unfortunately, not everyone does well in arithmetic or math in school, or may  be educated. This can prove to be a significant stumbling block for proper control of diabetes. Interestingly, much has been said lately about health literacy, being able to read the instructions from a doctor or how to take medications,. Not as much information has been placed on health numeracy, which is the ability to work... A Hearty Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2834307 Sat, 26 Sep 2009 01:20:35 +0100 2834307 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2709419&cid=t_110451_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F08%2F18%2Fthree-questions%2F Yesterday I spent some time with the participants on the pain management programme talking about their experiences in the health care system.  After reading a great wee self help pain management book written by David Hall which has a chapter on how to ‘manage’ being part of the health care system, I decided it might be a good idea to talk with the group about how to make the most of their relationships with health care providers. I was surprised to find that many of them are saying the sort of things I thought had gone from health – things like being told ‘I don’t believe in chronic pain’, ‘there must be a cause for your pain and I’ll find it’, ‘it’s really in your head’ – along with the experiences that some ha... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2709419 Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:15:18 +0100 2709419 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2390396&cid=t_110451_150_f&fid=34889&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpharmamkting.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F05%2Facademics-exaggerate-journalists.html Thanks to my Twitter colleagues, I came across two disturbing pieces of information concerning healthcare journalism in the US.The first was a WSJ Health Blog post about an Annals of Internal Medicine study of press releases that academic medical centers send out about their research (see "Academic Medical Centers Often Guilty of Research Hype"). The conclusion: The press releases "often promote research that has uncertain relevance to human health and do not provide key facts or acknowledge important limitations."The second was a March 2009 Survey of American Health Care Journalists (AHCJ), which found -- among other things -- that just under half (44%) of staff journalists participating in the survey say that their organization sometimes (34%) or frequently (10%) bases stories on news re... Pharma Marketing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2390396 Tue, 05 May 2009 10:52:00 +0100 2390396 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2341857&cid=t_110451_150_f&fid=34889&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpharmamkting.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F04%2Fhealth-literacy-worse-where-there-is.html One of the issues raised at the recent DTC National conference in Washington, DC was the impact of direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising on health literacy.Mark Senak -- blogger at EyeOnFDA, who participated in a panel discussion -- raised the ante on DTC's educational merit and suggested that we "Look abroad (where there is no DTC), and measure the health literacy to see the potential impact" (see these tweets).I did some research and found a report that compared health literacy in the US (where there IS DTC) and in Canada (where there is no DTC advertising). The report, entitled "Health Literacy in Canada," cited research that used the same point system as the US to measure health literacy in Canada and compared it's results to the US data:"Canadian men outperform their American counterpa... Pharma Marketing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2341857 Sat, 18 Apr 2009 13:04:00 +0100 2341857 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2188072&cid=t_110451_87_f&fid=35052&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FWomensBioethicsBlog%2F%7E3%2F538988238%2Fhealth-literacy-cry-for-universal.html Health care is now a business that rivals the industrial complex. Its major consumers are victims of lopsided capitalist principles that exploit weaknesses within our educational systems – mainly literacy. If literacy is at an all-time low in this country, health literacy must be virtually non-existent. But what does this mean? And more importantly, why should anyone care? These questions are made complicated by arguments that weave a moral blanket of hypocrisy which does not provide comfort – let alone security - to those most impacted by a poor health infrastructure. That is, too often we blame the sick for having sickness and the uneducated for not knowing when the real cause of either or both is mis-education combined with quests for power and, ultimately, control. Literacy is not... Women's Bioethics Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2188072 Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:21:49 +0100 2188072 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1985836&cid=t_110451_125_f&fid=37825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbibbynews.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F11%2F24%2Fwhat-you-should-know-about-oral-health-literacy%2F Three resolutions were adopted by the ADA house of delegates at the annual meeting in October.  These resolutions recognize the importance of Oral Health Literacy and support the goal of ensuring that dental patients receive  “clear, accurate and effective communication”. Health Literacy is defined as “the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, [...] (Source: Bibby Library News and Tips) Bibby Library News and Tips blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1985836 Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:32:13 +0100 1985836 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1915808&cid=t_110451_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F10%2F30%2Fhealth-literacy-if-you-cant-read-it-you-dont-get-it%2F For a long time I’ve been a fan of ‘plainspeak’ or eliminating gobbledegook.  I know my writing is often quite complex, but I try to write as if I’m talking directly to someone - and yes, I do use all those complicated words in real life! But after working in pain management for a while certain themes keep coming up, and one of them is the large number of people who don’t read and write well.  I value the concept of multiple intelligences, and some people are simply ‘practical’ and hands-on, and don’t like books much - but to actually not be able to read and write well enough to understand common labels and warnings and instructions, that is an incredible handicap. I have just been reading a paper by Don Nutbeam called ‘The evolving c... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1915808 Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:27:11 +0100 1915808 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1889387&cid=t_110451_125_f&fid=37825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbibbynews.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F10%2F20%2Foral-health-the-public-speaks%2F The American Dental Association, in collaboration with Crest and Oral-,B conducted a national public opinion survey on oral health care.  The survey represented  1,000 Americans ages 18 and older, living in the continental United States. The survey focused on the following areas: The public’s perceptions of their oral health care, with a special focus on African [...] (Source: Bibby Library News and Tips) Bibby Library News and Tips blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1889387 Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:04:33 +0100 1889387 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1872994&cid=t_110451_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F10%2F14%2Fjournal-of-communication-in-healthcare-13%2F This study examined recently delivered, under-served women’s recall of discussions with their provider during pregnancy about a variety of health topics and then compared these responses to provider recall of these discussions. Data were collected as a baseline indicator across four communities participating in a national intervention to improve perinatal healthcare services. Results of these dyads showed a 15 per cent or greater difference in patient-provider perceptions of whether or not discussions had occurred in the areas of seat-belt use, birth-control method after pregnancy, physical abuse and folic acid. Patient and provider differences in recall can be attributed to many factors; however, these results suggest miscommunication between perceptions. Providers may need tools to... Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1872994 Tue, 14 Oct 2008 06:18:10 +0100 1872994 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1830856&cid=t_110451_125_f&fid=37825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbibbynews.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F09%2F26%2Foral-health-care-for-mom-and-baby%2F The National Maternal and Oral Health Resource Center has published three new documents related to pregnancy and oral health, and oral health for babies. The first, Access to Oral Health Care During the Perinatal Period, is a policy brief that provides an overview of barriers to addressing women’s oral health needs during the perinatal period. Evidence [...] (Source: Bibby Library News and Tips) Bibby Library News and Tips blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1830856 Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:55:57 +0100 1830856 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1349727&cid=t_110451_86_f&fid=35599&url=http%3A%2F%2Fshrlibrary.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F04%2Freading-writing-and-health.html How well you can read, interpret and understand health information has a direct impact on your health. Health Literacy is becoming a hot topic as of late. A March 3rd, 2008 press release from the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) states that " a majority of Canadian adults do not have the skills needed to respond to daily health information demands." Debra Lynkowski the CEO of CPHA points out that "Canada's health system must become more sensitive and responsive to the issues of language culture and health literacy."The CPHA panel recommends that there be a nation wide strategy that implements a programs for groups that are significantly impacted by low levels of health literacy, such as older adults, recent immigrants, those with low income/low education or low capacity in French ... SHR Medical Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1349727 Thu, 03 Apr 2008 22:11:00 +0100 1349727 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1344051&cid=t_110451_86_f&fid=34466&url=http%3A%2F%2Fclinicalevidence.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F04%2Fmedical-jargon.html Interesting brief opinion piece in today's Guardian - This epidemic of medical jargon isn't good for us - Professor Jonathan Wolff discusses the linguistic reasons for a professional jargon and advocates:To take better care of our health, we need access to clear information. I concede that some specialised technical vocabulary is needed and useful. But many terms seem to be used purely to give medical professionals a spurious sense of precision and authority, while policing the boundaries of the subject; keeping out the riff-raff. If the Chinese, to improve literacy, can simplify their written script, can we not simplify medical terminology to improve health literacy? (Source: Clinical Evidence, Searching Tidbits, and Other Minutiae) Clinical Evidence, Searching Tidbits, and Other Minutiae blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1344051 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:11:00 +0100 1344051 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1185621&cid=t_110451_86_f&fid=34466&url=http%3A%2F%2Fclinicalevidence.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F01%2Fcommon-health-language.html The newsletter ADVANCE for Health Information Management Professionals has a really nice brief article on health literacy, "Dream of a Common Health Language" by Shawn Proctor. The article a few simple but striking examples from the world of respiratory therapy to illustrate signs and potential implications of low health literacy.For Mari Jones, RRT, FNP, AE-C, the predicament hit home when she found her college-educated father struggling to understand his doctor's instructions. He had returned home knowing he should stop taking one of three medications. But he was unclear as to which one. He didn't want to admit he didn't understand.The article mentions The Newest Vital Sign, a health literacy test that Pfizer makes freely available and the NN/LM health literacy page. (Source: Clinical Ev... Clinical Evidence, Searching Tidbits, and Other Minutiae blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1185621 Tue, 29 Jan 2008 15:24:00 +0100 1185621 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1087707&cid=t_110451_113_f&fid=35752&url=http%3A%2F%2Fjseidman.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F12%2F11%2Fix-medicaid-and-hit%2F The Center for Children and Families at the Georgetown Health Policy Institute has just released a series of issue briefs on “Strengthening Medicaid.” I authored one of these papers, “Health Information Technology: Innovative Applications for Medicaid,” which discusses strategies that states can use to improve the quality and efficiency of Medicaid programs. The paper addresses how HIT relates to health disparities, health literacy, and the digital divide. To see more about these issues, see the robust Ix discussion on the patient-centered health information technology (PCHIT) blog. (Source: Information Therapy...and Other Ways to Change the World) Information Therapy...and Other Ways to Change the World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1087707 Tue, 11 Dec 2007 19:47:40 +0100 1087707 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1033141&cid=t_110451_158_f&fid=36018&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcaregiversbeacon.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F11%2Fhospital-impact-re-25-of-people-misread.html Dr. Marc C. Rothman writes at the Hospital Impact blog in a post titled "Healthcare Complexity: The Elephant in the Room" that an article in the Archive of Internal Medicine had details about a study of healthcare literacy. Over a period of 6 years, the authors of the article included 3500 people over the age of 65 in the study. The results were "A quarter of the folks had inadequate healthcare literacy, meaning they misread prescription bottles and appointment slips."As one can guess this group had a higher chance of dying in the next six years. The difference between the chances of dying were 40% for the group with healthcare literacy difficulty (reading prescriptions and appointments), and ony 18% for those with good healthcare literacy.Dr. Rothman reports in the blog that the differenc... The Caregiver's Beacon - Resources, Links, Ideas, News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1033141 Fri, 16 Nov 2007 20:55:00 +0100 1033141 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=911919&cid=t_110451_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F162545469%2F Music may be more effective than phonics in enhancing verbal communication and literacy skills, a new study from Northwestern University suggests—I like the sound of that. My son Charlie is learning phonics as one part of his learning-to-read curriculum: It is slow going, especially as Charlie, who has apraxia, does not always identify some of the alphabet letters correctly (B and D are continually confused, owing to their similarities of sound and form). It is clearer and clearer to me everyday that music is a powerful way to teach Charlie, and for him to communicate; if there is some way to use music to help him with his reading, so much the better. The September 27th Science Daily notes this about audiovisual processing in musicians: Musicians use all of their senses to practice a... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=911919 Fri, 28 Sep 2007 21:51:39 +0100 911919 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=758078&cid=t_110451_113_f&fid=35752&url=http%3A%2F%2Fjseidman.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F07%2F25%2Fhealth-literacy-or-death%2F Lots of interesting Ix-related stories have been in the media recently, but none more dramatic than the study from the Archives of Internal Medicine that demonstrated a significant relationship between inadequate health literacy and all-cause mortality in seniors. In fact, Baker et al (7/23/07; abstract at http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/167/14/1503) found that literacy is a more powerful predictor of death than education. Tthe authors also highlight past research that links inadequate health literacy to less knowledge and worse self-management skills for people with chronic disease. This research should reinforce the call to action to deliver information to people that is tailored to their individual needs. Although using plain language is one useful strategy, effective t... Information Therapy...and Other Ways to Change the World blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=758078 Wed, 25 Jul 2007 21:06:49 +0100 758078