Literacy and Numeracy

Communicating risk for treatment options can present many challenges. Many individuals may have limited health literacy and numeracy skills and therefore, information and data must be presented in a way that is easy to understand. Researchers study the most effective ways to communicate risk so there is little or no confusion.

Our Library

Below you will find samples of our most recent acquisitions in Literacy and Numeracy, grouped by resource type.

Enhancing Comprehension of Graphically Presented Medical Data: Designs to Help People with Low Graph Literacy

September 20, 2012
In order to make informed medical decisions, patients need to understand information about risks, benefits and drawbacks of different treatments. However, research on health literacy and medical decision making has shown that patients in different cultures have severe problems grasping a host of numerical concepts that are prerequisites for understanding health-relevant statistical information. Graphical displays -- including line plots, bar charts or icon arrays -- often facilitate the communication of numerical information, and can help overcome some of these difficulties.…  Continue reading →
Posted in George Bennett Grants, Literacy and Numeracy, Risk Communication | Tagged data displays, graphic comprehension, graphical displays, health care, health literacy, informed decision making, low graph literacy, medical decisions, patients, shared decision making Permalink

Using Cardio-metabolic Risk Information in Health Decisions: Barriers from the Perspective of Low Literate Consumers

May 15, 2011
The aim of the proposed study is to investigate how consumers with low levels of health literacy understand, evaluate and use current risk information in the Dutch national cardio-metabolic health check in order to identify barriers for an effective use from the perspective of these consumers. A further goal of the study is to develop an adapted version of the existing risk communication tool, which will be further tested in a continued study.…  Continue reading →
Posted in Investigator-Initiated Research, Literacy and Numeracy, Risk Communication, Robert Derzon Grants | Tagged cardio-metabolic, communicating risk, health literacy Permalink

Development and Feasibility Testing of a "Consumer Questions" Program to Increase Health Literacy and Empower Consumers to Participate in Decisions about their Health

January 31, 2010
To explore feasibility and implementation issues of a program to train consumers to use the consumer questions.…  Continue reading →
Posted in Investigator-Initiated Grants, Investigator-Initiated Research, Literacy and Numeracy, Patient Involvement, SDM Implementation | Tagged decision-making, health care, health literacy Permalink

Using Multimedia Approaches to Communicate Probabilities in Patient Decision Aids for Low-Literacy Populations

January 30, 2010
The broad, long-term goal of this project is to determine the value of enhanced multimedia approaches to communicating probabilities in patient decision support tools when applied to patients with low health literacy/numeracy.…  Continue reading →
Posted in Decision Aid Components, Directed Research, Literacy and Numeracy, Risk Communication | Tagged communicating risk, decision aids, health literacy Permalink

Personalized Cardiovascular Risk Information to Initiate and Maintain Health Behavior Changes

January 30, 2010
We propose an evaluation that will assess three important components of risk communication: 1) provide patients with personalized risk communication using the risk calculator developed by the Informed Medical Decisions Foundation and health information taken from the Living with Coronary Artery Disease program; 2) provide personalized tailored patient feedback to help initiate and maintain specific cardiovascular CVD-related behaviors (e.g., medication adherence, exercise, diet, smoking cessation) to reduce risks; and 3) evaluate how this feedback can be incorporated into clinical care by examining 3-month patient outcomes and provider responses to the risk information.…  Continue reading →
Posted in Decision Aid Effectiveness, Directed Research, Literacy and Numeracy, Risk Communication | Tagged cardiovascular disease, communicating risk Permalink

The Effect of Testimonials in Patient Decision Aids: The Role of Numeracy, Literacy and Decision Making Style

January 31, 2009
Researchers want to understand what the effects of including testimonials and statistical information are, and how patient numeracy, literacy and decision making style interact with the type of information presented.…  Continue reading →
Posted in Decision Aid Components, Investigator-Initiated Research, Literacy and Numeracy, Patient Involvement, Risk Communication | Tagged decision aids, decision-making, health literacy, health numeracy, testimonials Permalink

Novel Methods for Risk Communication Among Patients with Low Numeracy Skills--Application in Prostate Cancer Decision Support

January 31, 2008
This study is fielding a series of 50 structured interviews in our practice based research network of four clinics serving large populations of African American men with low literacy and low numeracy skills.…  Continue reading →
Posted in Decision Aid Effectiveness, Decision Quality, Investigator-Initiated Grants, Investigator-Initiated Research, Literacy and Numeracy, Patient Involvement, Patient Knowledge, Patient Preferences, Risk Communication | Tagged decision aids, low numeracy, prostate cancer Permalink

Testing Multimedia and Print Health Materials Across Literacy Levels

January 30, 2008
We propose two complementary investigations to address the effectiveness of optimally designed multimedia and print materials in different contexts. The first addresses knowledge dissemination for preventive services and disease self-management. The second explores best practices for conveying information about risks and benefits of treatment.…  Continue reading →
Posted in Decision Aid Effectiveness, Directed Research, Literacy and Numeracy | Tagged decision aids, health literacy Permalink

Treatment Decision Making in Localized Prostate Cancer: The Role of Functional Health Literacy and Cancer-Related Distress

May 15, 2007
The proposed study will examine predictors of informed decision making in men considering treatment for localized prostate cancer. Specifically, we will evaluate the ability of functional health literacy and cancer-related anxiety to predict indices of effective decision making in a population of veterans with prostate cancer. Measure of prostate cancer knowledge, decisional conflict, and eventual treatment choice will be used to assess these three components of effective decisions.…  Continue reading →
Posted in Investigator-Initiated Research, Literacy and Numeracy, Patient Involvement, Risk Communication, Robert Derzon Grants | Tagged decision-making, health literacy, prostate cancer, prostate cancer treatment Permalink

Helping People with Low Numeracy Understand Medical Information

January 31, 2007
Studies conducted to examine how people from two countries (USA and Germany) understand numerical and graphical information, which presentation formats help them understand it better and how they use the data to make medical decisions. Aim is to study ways to communicate quantitative medical information to people with low numeracy skills and to propose formats that promote better understanding and proper use of such information. …  Continue reading →
Posted in Investigator-Initiated Grants, Investigator-Initiated Research, Literacy and Numeracy, Risk Communication | Tagged health numeracy Permalink

Impact of Health Literacy on Outcomes and Effectiveness of Shared Decision-Making® Programs in Patients with Chronic Diseases

January 31, 2005
In conjunction with study aims, researchers hypothesize, in patients with coronary heart disease, a video version of a shared decision making program will result in greater knowledge about CAD, its associated risks and life style changes when compared to the use of a booklet alone. …  Continue reading →
Posted in Decision Aid Effectiveness, Investigator-Initiated Grants, Investigator-Initiated Research, Literacy and Numeracy, Patient Involvement | Tagged CAD, chronic disease, decision aids, health literacy, shared decision making Permalink