University of Arizona Researcher Develops New Tool for Rapid Assessment of Health Literacy Skills

    TUCSON, Ariz., Dec. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Thanks to research efforts led by
 Barry D. Weiss, MD, professor of family and community medicine at The
 University of Arizona College of Medicine, health-care providers soon will
 have access to a new tool designed to assess a patient's health literacy
 skills quickly and simply. Knowing if a patient can understand and act on
 health information enables the physician and nurse to tailor their
 communication and enhance patient understanding.
     Dr. Weiss and his team of UA researchers, working in collaboration with
 colleagues at the University of North Carolina, have developed the Newest
 Vital Sign, the first instrument of its kind. A simple, six-question
 assessment based on an ice cream nutrition label, the Newest Vital Sign (NVS)
 enables the health-care provider to assess an individual's health literacy
 skills -- the ability to read, understand and act upon health information --
 quickly and accurately. It is the only such rapid assessment tool developed in
 Spanish, as well as English. Reports issued by the Institute of Medicine, the
 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the American Medical
 Association in 2004 indicate that as many as half of all adults in the United
 States have low health literacy. They lack the skills needed to function
 adequately in today's complicated health-care environment. Difficulty in
 navigating the complexities of health care, from interpreting instructions for
 medications and self-care regimens to understanding insurance and informed-
 consent documents, often leads to other problems, including non-compliance
 with health-care instructions, failure to seek preventive care, longer
 hospital stays and higher health-care costs.
     In the clinical paper, "Quick Assessment of Literacy in Primary Care: The
 Newest Vital Sign," to be published in the Dec. 6 issue of Annals of Family
 Medicine, Dr. Weiss explains that current literacy screening instruments for
 health-care settings either take too much time to administer for routine use
 or are available only in English. The Newest Vital Sign, on the other hand,
 can be administered in only 3 minutes and is available in Spanish and English.
 During an office visit, the Newest Vital Sign can be used to assess health
 literacy skills at the same time the patient's other vital signs, such as
 blood pressure, are taken. The patient is given the ice cream nutrition label
 by the nurse or physician, and then is asked a series of questions about it.
 Based on the number of correct answers given, health-care providers can assess
 the patient's health literacy level and adjust the way they communicate with
 the patient to ensure understanding.
     "Many physicians are unaware of the large number of patients who have
 limited health literacy. The Newest Vital Sign instrument can help them to
 find out the situation in their own practice," says Dr. Weiss. "Low health
 literacy is a silent epidemic, so providers need a simple and fast way to
 identify those patients in their practice at greatest risk."
     According to the non-profit Partnership for Clear Health Communication, a
 coalition of national organizations working to promote awareness of and
 solutions for low health literacy, literacy skills are a stronger predictor of
 a person's health status than age, income, employment status, educational
 level and racial or ethnic group. While ethnic minority groups are
 disproportionately affected by low literacy, the majority of those with low
 literacy skills in the United States are white, native-born Americans. Health
 information often is difficult to understand, but some people are especially
 vulnerable in a health-care situation, including the elderly, recent
 immigrants (who may be highly literate in their own language), people with
 chronic disease and those with low socioeconomic status.
     Profound social and economic effects are associated with this condition.
 Costs to the American health-care system caused by excess hospitalizations and
 emergency care, errors by patients in their self treatment and other problems
 associated with limited health literacy, are estimated to be between
 $58 billion and $73 billion per year. One study found that patients with a
 lower-than-third-grade reading level averaged more than $10,000 in annual
 Medicaid costs, while the Medicaid program spent less than $3,000 on those
 with better than third-grade reading levels.
     The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recognizes health
 literacy as an important issue, and it is a priority on U.S. Surgeon General
 Richard Carmona's agenda. In a statement issued last April, former HHS
 Secretary Tommy Thompson said, "Health literacy can save lives, money and
 improve the health of millions of Americans. It goes to the core of our
 health-care system. Improving the ability of Americans to obtain, process and
 understand basic health information is essential to our strategy on
 prevention."
     Research and development of The Newest Vital Sign was funded by Pfizer,
 Inc. The instrument will be available to medical and public health providers
 at no cost. To read Dr. Weiss' report, visit the Annals of Family Medicine Web
 site ( http://www.annfammed.org ) and view the November-December issue.
 
 

SOURCE  University of Arizona Health Sciences Center

    TUCSON, Ariz., Dec. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Thanks to research efforts led by
 Barry D. Weiss, MD, professor of family and community medicine at The
 University of Arizona College of Medicine, health-care providers soon will
 have access to a new tool designed to assess a patient's health literacy
 skills quickly and simply. Knowing if a patient can understand and act on
 health information enables the physician and nurse to tailor their
 communication and enhance patient understanding.
     Dr. Weiss and his team of UA researchers, working in collaboration with
 colleagues at the University of North Carolina, have developed the Newest
 Vital Sign, the first instrument of its kind. A simple, six-question
 assessment based on an ice cream nutrition label, the Newest Vital Sign (NVS)
 enables the health-care provider to assess an individual's health literacy
 skills -- the ability to read, understand and act upon health information --
 quickly and accurately. It is the only such rapid assessment tool developed in
 Spanish, as well as English. Reports issued by the Institute of Medicine, the
 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the American Medical
 Association in 2004 indicate that as many as half of all adults in the United
 States have low health literacy. They lack the skills needed to function
 adequately in today's complicated health-care environment. Difficulty in
 navigating the complexities of health care, from interpreting instructions for
 medications and self-care regimens to understanding insurance and informed-
 consent documents, often leads to other problems, including non-compliance
 with health-care instructions, failure to seek preventive care, longer
 hospital stays and higher health-care costs.
     In the clinical paper, "Quick Assessment of Literacy in Primary Care: The
 Newest Vital Sign," to be published in the Dec. 6 issue of Annals of Family
 Medicine, Dr. Weiss explains that current literacy screening instruments for
 health-care settings either take too much time to administer for routine use
 or are available only in English. The Newest Vital Sign, on the other hand,
 can be administered in only 3 minutes and is available in Spanish and English.
 During an office visit, the Newest Vital Sign can be used to assess health
 literacy skills at the same time the patient's other vital signs, such as
 blood pressure, are taken. The patient is given the ice cream nutrition label
 by the nurse or physician, and then is asked a series of questions about it.
 Based on the number of correct answers given, health-care providers can assess
 the patient's health literacy level and adjust the way they communicate with
 the patient to ensure understanding.
     "Many physicians are unaware of the large number of patients who have
 limited health literacy. The Newest Vital Sign instrument can help them to
 find out the situation in their own practice," says Dr. Weiss. "Low health
 literacy is a silent epidemic, so providers need a simple and fast way to
 identify those patients in their practice at greatest risk."
     According to the non-profit Partnership for Clear Health Communication, a
 coalition of national organizations working to promote awareness of and
 solutions for low health literacy, literacy skills are a stronger predictor of
 a person's health status than age, income, employment status, educational
 level and racial or ethnic group. While ethnic minority groups are
 disproportionately affected by low literacy, the majority of those with low
 literacy skills in the United States are white, native-born Americans. Health
 information often is difficult to understand, but some people are especially
 vulnerable in a health-care situation, including the elderly, recent
 immigrants (who may be highly literate in their own language), people with
 chronic disease and those with low socioeconomic status.
     Profound social and economic effects are associated with this condition.
 Costs to the American health-care system caused by excess hospitalizations and
 emergency care, errors by patients in their self treatment and other problems
 associated with limited health literacy, are estimated to be between
 $58 billion and $73 billion per year. One study found that patients with a
 lower-than-third-grade reading level averaged more than $10,000 in annual
 Medicaid costs, while the Medicaid program spent less than $3,000 on those
 with better than third-grade reading levels.
     The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recognizes health
 literacy as an important issue, and it is a priority on U.S. Surgeon General
 Richard Carmona's agenda. In a statement issued last April, former HHS
 Secretary Tommy Thompson said, "Health literacy can save lives, money and
 improve the health of millions of Americans. It goes to the core of our
 health-care system. Improving the ability of Americans to obtain, process and
 understand basic health information is essential to our strategy on
 prevention."
     Research and development of The Newest Vital Sign was funded by Pfizer,
 Inc. The instrument will be available to medical and public health providers
 at no cost. To read Dr. Weiss' report, visit the Annals of Family Medicine Web
 site ( http://www.annfammed.org ) and view the November-December issue.
 
 SOURCE  University of Arizona Health Sciences Center