Recent News

Can a patient’s reading level be a determinant as to whether he or she can properly manage a chronic illness? A recent study by the University of California at San Francisco found that patients who have limited proficiency in English or problems comprehending physician instructions and health information experience difficulties accessing care and have a tendency to receive lower-quality care.

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Patients with very low literacy skills can be helped by spoken directions plus pictures to take home as reminders or by pictures plus very simply worded captions.

“How can I use pictures to support key points?" is one of the recommendations made to educators.

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Health organizations are being asked to train staff members about how to minimize disparities in health by providing care that is sensitive to diverse ethnic and racial groups.

A recent publication by the Joint Commission addresses the issue of cultural and linguistic training and provides several approaches to educating staff about cultural and linguistic needs of the populations they serve.

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How health care organizations can ensure that they deliver effective, patient-centered communication with people from diverse populations is the focus of a consensus report from the American Medical Association.

This report is the result of work from the Ethical Force Program™, a collaborative project led by the Institute for Ethics at the American Medical Association.

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