How health care facilities can promote health literacy

The Corona pandemic poses particular challenges for health care facilities (i.e. hospitals, care facilities and integration assistance). The handling of health-related information has also increased significantly during the pandemic. Thus, the flood of information surrounding the Corona pandemic can be described as a kind of information pandemic ("infodemic"). The more health literate the working and general conditions are, the easier it is to deal with these challenges in professional and everyday life and with health and Corona pandemic information.

"The Corona pandemic has once again demonstrated how important it is to offer health information in a way that is appropriate to the target group and easily accessible, so that those involved can deal competently with health information and find their way around the health system," emphasises Professor Dr Katharina Rathmann.

The concept of the health-competent institution offers a holistic approach to strengthen health competence and thus the handling of health information and challenges in the professional and everyday life of staff and patients, residents, clients and their relatives.

On the way to becoming a health-competent facility

In the project "Development of Health Competence in Health Care Facilities (EwiKo)", funded by the AOK PLUS, the Fulda University of Applied Sciences - under the direction of Prof. Dr. Katharina Rathmann - is developing a digital toolbox and a concept of measures to support and accompany facilities on their way to becoming health-competent facilities.

The health competence of a facility can be strengthened in eight fields of action (e.g. mission statement and facility culture, staff training, communication and information materials). The EwiKo project is at the interface with workplace health promotion and workplace health management and is aimed at the staff and management personnel in the facilities.

"Together with the health care facilities, we would like to test and apply self-checks and tools to strengthen health literacy, which the employees in the facilities can fall back on," says Professor Rathmann.

User-friendly and practical support

Health literacy in health care facilities is assessed by means of a self-check and aims at the fields of action of a health-competent facility. After a scientific evaluation of the results and the identification of needs to strengthen health literacy, the institutions can choose from different tools to strengthen health literacy. For example, in order to ensure that patients, residents, clients and relatives have understood the health information conveyed in the field of action "Communication", staff can use the tool "Explain back". Explaining back is about repeating what has been said in your own words. This allows staff to assess whether they have understood the information provided. "Our goal is to provide institutions with a clear, user-friendly and practical support for strengthening health literacy, which they can use to promote the resources of their staff," says Professor Rathmann. "Patients, residents, clients and their relatives or carers also benefit from this because the facilities make it easier for them to find their way around and understand relevant information."

The background for the project is the National Health Literacy Action Plan. It calls for developing the health care system in a user-friendly and health-competent way at all levels. Studies had shown that more than half of the people in Germany have difficulties finding, understanding, assessing and applying relevant health information. There is also evidence that people who have difficulties in dealing with health-related information are more likely to have a poorer health lifestyle, a poorer quality of life and a lower life expectancy than those who have no difficulties in dealing with health-related information and finding their way around the health system.

The toolbox in practice

In an online survey, the team from Fulda University of Applied Sciences first recorded health literacy in health care facilities in Saxony and Thuringia. To determine how health literacy can be strengthened, they developed a self-check. "The feedback from practice showed us that the facilities still have a need to strengthen health literacy," says Professor Rathmann. In the next step, she and her team are compiling a toolbox that is structured according to the eight fields of action of a health-competent institution. The toolbox contains tools and materials that can be used to strengthen health literacy in health care facilities (e.g. conversation techniques such as "informing in tidbits", supporting checklists and materials for implementation).

In the summer of this year, measures to strengthen health literacy based on these prepared tools are to be tested in selected Saxon and Thuringian facilities. With the help of the self-check, individual needs are to be identified and a concept for measures is to be developed in a participatory manner with all those involved. Information on the EwiKo project can be found here.

Provision of the project results

The project is funded by AOK PLUS and will run until the end of 2022. By then, all project results should be available on the website.