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The essential tools and methodologies for real-world patient education Human Disease and Health Promotion offers a comprehensive introduction to health advocacy and patient education in a real-world context. Covering the epidemiology and pathology of major communicable and non-communicable diseases, this book details up-to-date health promotion strategies and communication approaches designed to engage diverse populations. These methodologies can inform health promotion efforts. You'll learn how to partner with the patient to navigate healthcare systems and services and how to manage the relationship to avoid patient dependence and advocate burn-out. An extensive guide to common diseases includes details on mechanism, treatment, epidemiology, pathology, and attendant psychosocial implications, and prevention and control are emphasized to the degree that the patient has the capacity to obtain, process, and understand the information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. Rich in examples, tools, and exercises, this text includes access to a downloadable workbook that provides additional exercises to reinforce concepts and build essential practical skills. Public health education and advocacy is an enormous undertaking with many variables. This book helps provides a real-world picture of the depth and breadth of the field, with clear guidance toward current theory and practice. Apply current health literacy theories and participatory patient education strategies Design, implement, and evaluate programs targeting various groups Analyze and apply new technologies in patient education and health advocacy Understand the mechanisms, treatments, and epidemiology of common diseases Nine out of ten adults may lack the skills needed to manage their health and prevent disease, and over half find it a challenge to self-manage chronic diseases and use health services appropriately. Human Disease and Health Promotion helps you develop your role as health educator and advocate so you can connect patients with the care and information they need.

Research conducted over the past two decades has shown that poor patient understanding of medication instructions is an important contributor to the more than 1 million medication errors and adverse drug events that lead to office and emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and even death. Patients who have limited literacy skills, who have multiple comorbidities, and who are elderly face the greatest risk, and limited literacy skills are significantly associated with inadequate understanding and use of prescription instructions and precautions. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality notes that only 12 percent of U.S. adults have proficient health literacy that allows them to interpret a prescription label correctly. Given the importance of health literacy to the proper use of medications, and the apparent lack of progress in improving medication adherence, the Roundtable on Health Literacy formed an ad hoc committee to plan and conduct a 1-day public workshop that featured invited presentations and discussion of the role and challenges regarding clarity of communication on medication. Participants focused on using health literacy principles to address clarity of materials, decision aids, and other supportive tools and technologies regarding risks, benefits, alternatives, and health plan coverage. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Informed consent - the process of communication between a patient or research subject and a physician or researcher that results in the explicit agreement to undergo a specific medical intervention - is an ethical concept based on the principle that all patients and research subjects should understand and agree to the potential consequences of the clinical care they receive. Regulations that govern the attainment of informed consent for treatment and research are crucial to ensuring that medical care and research are conducted in an ethical manner and with the utmost respect for individual preferences and dignity. These regulations, however, often require - or are perceived to require - that informed consent documents and related materials contain language that is beyond the comprehension level of most patients and study participants. To explore what actions can be taken to help close the gap between what is required in the informed consent process and communicating it in a health-literate and meaningful manner to individuals, the Institute of Medicine's Roundtable on Health Literacy convened a one-day public workshop featuring presentations and discussions that examine the implications of health literacy for informed consent for both research involving human subjects and treatment of patients. Topics covered in this workshop included an overview of the ethical imperative to gain informed consent from patients and research participants, a review of the current state and best practices for informed consent in research and treatment, the connection between poor informed consent processes and minority underrepresentation in research, new approaches to informed consent that reflect principles of health literacy, and the future of informed consent in the treatment and research settings. Informed Consent and Health Literacy is the summary of the presentations and discussion of the workshop.

The proliferation of consumer-facing technology and personal health information technology has grown steadily over the past decade, and has certainly exploded over the past several years. Many people have embraced smartphones and wearable health-monitoring devices to track their fitness and personal health information. Providers have made it easier for patients and caregivers to access health records and communicate through online patient portals. However, the large volume of health-related information that these devices can generate and input into a health record can also lead to an increased amount of confusion on the part of users and caregivers. The Institute of Medicine convened a workshop to explore health literate practices in health information technology and then provide and consider the ramifications of this rapidly growing field on the health literacy of users. Health Literacy and Consumer-Facing Technology summarizes the discussions and presentations from this workshop, highlighting the lessons presented, practical strategies, and the needs and opportunities for improving health literacy in consumer-facing technology.

The process of patient education allows for patients to think about their health in new ways and for educators and professionals to propose new ways to heal, with the ultimate goal of patients having a positive outlook on life and consistently maintained health. Innovative Collaborative Practice and Reflection in Patient Education presents multigenre writing, incorporating authors'personal and professional stories along with academic theories. It combines the fields of education and medicine, presenting innovative approaches to health education and designing new approaches to healing. This research publication will impact the field of health education and be of use to educators, researchers, practitioners, professionals, and patients.

This evidence-based guide provides the first comprehensive overview of patient engagement and participation in healthcare. It has been written for all those who want to understand the various ways in which patient and public engagement can contribute to better health outcomes.Angela Coulter explains the theories, models and policies at the heart of patient involvement as well as giving extensive practical examples to demonstrate the reality of involving patients. The book includes an examination of patients'roles in respect of:Improving care processesBuilding health literacySelecting treatmentsStrengthening self-careEnsuring safer careParticipating in researchTraining professionalsShaping servicesClearly written by a leading author in the field and well illustrated with data, examples and evidence, the book includes practical descriptions of real patient engagement, together with critical review and suggestions to guide future developments. This guide also brings together an extensive body of international evidence, making it the most current and original text on the market.Engaging Patients in Healthcare is essential reading for students and professionals working and studying in public health, health care management, health services and beyond.'This book is the roadmap we need to guide the creation of the healthcare system we've all dreamed about – one that truly taps the power of patient and professional wisdom.'Susan Edgman-Levitan, PA, Executive Director, Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation, Massachusetts General Hospital, USA'This book provides the building blocks from which healthcare professionals can try to engage people more, from consultation based practices, such as shared decision making and improved self management, to deeper changes in shaping services and training professionals.'British Medical Journal, 2011'Policy makers and practitioners will benefit from Angela Coulter's analysis of the challenges of securing effective engagement and the ideas she puts forward for overcoming these challenges.'Chris Ham, Chief Executive of The King's Fund, London, UK'Angela Coulter has managed to de-mystify the concepts of patient engagement in health care in a readable, balanced, thought-provoking primer. A'must read'for students, educators, practitioners, managers, and policy makers needing a primer or update.'Annette O'Connor, Emeritus Professor University of Ottawa, Canada'Committed doyenne, Coulter writes superbly about patients as the greatest untapped resource in healthcare. At a time when health services face so many challenges across the globe, there are solutions here that need urgent attention.'Professor Glyn Elwyn BA MB BCh MSc FRCGP PhDDirector of Research, Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Clinical Epidemiology IRG, Cardiff University, UK'While politicians pay increasing obeisance to the notion of'patient-centred care'patients often experience a service built around the needs of healthcare organisations and professionals. The challenge is to translate the often woolly rhetoric of “no decision about me without me” into practical steps that improve the quality of care, and keep it affordable as cost pressures mushroom. Those who are serious about taking on this challenge could do no better than study Dr Coulter's crisp and cogent overview of the theory, evidence and practice of patient engagement.'Jeremy Taylor, Chief Executive, National Voices

Medical information is now widely available on the Internet and through telephone helplines such as NHS Direct and the focus on patient self care is likely to increase. Clinicians in all specialties will often encounter patients who have made self-directed searches for medical information prior to the clinical encounter.Teleneurology by Internet and Telephone is a study of patient information-seeking behaviour in neurology patients prior to referral from primary to secondary care. The book analyses frequency of Internet access and use, and of telephone helpline awareness and use. It also explores use of these modalities over time, use according to patient gender and age and by gender and age over time. Teleneurology by Internet and Telephone is an accessible overview of the utility of these modalities of health information provision and will be of interest not only to neurologists and clinicians in other specialities but also to public health researchers, sociologists and political scientists with an interest in questions of health care provision.

Every year at least 1.5 million people suffer adverse effects from medication. These problems occur because people misunderstand labels, are unaware of drug interactions, or otherwise use medication improperly. The Food and Drug Administration's Safe Use Initiative seeks to identify preventable medication risks and develop solutions to them. The IOM held a workshop to discuss the FDA's Safe Use Initiative and other efforts to improve drug labeling and safety.

The management of chronic disease and the contribution patients make to their own care is attracting widespread attention, nationally and internationally. A range of self-management courses have been developed by Kate Lorig and her team at Stanford University's Medical School since the early 1980s, some of which have now been implemented throughout England and across other parts of the UK. Designed for people with long-term health conditions, they are delivered by hundreds of agencies worldwide, and differentiate the concept of disease management (to be done by a health care professional) from the individual's management of life with a long-term condition (self-management). This book explores how this work became valued within the NHS and local communities and also airs the arguments about the importance of lay leadership. It brings together those who have been instrumental in developing these courses, and assesses the value they hold for the different groups involved directly in them (participants, course trainers, staff), and those it will affect indirectly (GPs, nurses, policy makers, commissioners). The reader will find personal experience and accounts of the excitement in designing new work. Reflection on what happens to people attending courses is set alongside consideration of radical questions about the need for resilient communities. Next, the research reports are followed by considerations for policy makers and local agencies, voluntary and statutory. Finally, questions about the future direction and links to local communities are raised.

Designated a Doody's Core Title!At the intersection of health care delivery and practice there lies a large area of patient care with no manual: how to provide the best care to patients who have a critically low level of comprehension and literacy. Because all patients play a central role in the outcome of their own health care, competent health care becomes almost impossible for caregivers when the boundary of low literary skills is present.In a concise and well-written format you will learn: Common myths about low literacy Examples of low health care literacy How to recognize patients with low literacy Strategies to help patients with low literacy and reduce medical errors Cultural issues in health literacy Ways to create a patient-friendly office environment How to improve patient communication Guidelines to target and overcome common problems practitioners encounterThis clear, well written book is packed with examples and tips and will serve as a much needed guide for primary care providers, nurse practitioners, hospital administrators, and others who are looking for ways to improve their communication with patients and provide the most beneficial health care to their low-literacy patients.

Advancing Health Literacy addresses the crisis in health literacy in the United States and around the world. This book thoroughly examines the critical role of literacy in public health and outlines a practical, effective model that bridges the gap between health education, health promotion, and health communication. Step by step, the authors outline the theory and practice of health literacy from a public health perspective. This comprehensive resource includes the history of health literacy, theoretical foundations of health and language literacy, the role of the media, a series of case studies on important topics including prenatal care, anthrax, HIV/AIDS, genomics, and diabetes. The book concludes with a series of practical guidelines for the development and assessment of health communications materials. Also included are essential techniques needed to help people make informed decisions, advocate for themselves and their community, mitigate risk, and live healthier lives.

'...this text...will become a reference for years to come.'Health ExpectationsThis is the first book to clearly assess the increasingly important area of communication of risk in the health sector. We are moving away from the days when paternalistic doctors managed healthcare without involving patients in decision making. With the current emphasis on patient empowerment and shared decision making, patients want and need reliable, comprehensive and understandable information about their conditions and treatment. In order to make informed decisions, the people concerned must understand the risks and benefits associated with possible treatments. But the challenge for health professionals is how best to communicate this complex medical information to diverse audiences.The book examines:Risk: defining and explaining how the term is used by different disciplines, how its meanings have changed over time and how the general public understand it Health communication and the effects on health behaviours Effective risk communication to individuals and the wider publicEffectiveness of patient information leaflets, and strategies for improving oral and written health communications The cognitive and emotional issues at stake for patients in understanding risk and health informationThe use of new technologies in risk and health communicationEthical issues, and the future of risk communication Using examples from disciplines including psychology, sociology, health, medicine, pharmacy, statistics and business and management, this book is key reading for students who need to understand the effect of risk in health psychology as well as for health professionals interested in doctor-patient communication, informed consent and patient welfare.