Watch your language.(Pacific Southwest Regional Medical Library of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine )

ABSTRACT

The Pacific Southwest Regional Medical Library of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) hosted a one-day educational symposium entitled "Stake Your Claim to Health Literacy" in January 2004. The symposium focused on the practical knowledge and tools needed to participate in health literacy initiatives within the health care and health information environments. It provided a unique opportunity for the participants--medical librarians, public librarians, health care interpreters, and health educators--to hear from experts and to learn about potential health literacy partners. The event, cosponsored by three regional chapters of the Medical Library Association, preceded their joint meeting in Sacramento, California. An advisory group of library and literacy professionals from the NN/LM Pacific Northwest and Pacific Southwest Regions, along with a second-year National Library of Medicine associate fellow, planned, implemented, and evaluated the symposium.

INTRODUCTION

In January 2004 the Pacific Southwest Regional Medical Library of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) hosted a one-day educational symposium entitled "Stake Your Claim to Health Literacy." The symposium focused on the practical knowledge and tools needed to participate in health literacy initiatives within the health care and health information environments. It provided a unique opportunity for the participants--medical librarians, public librarians, health care interpreters, and health educators--to hear from experts and to learn about potential health literacy partners. This article provides an overview of developments in health literacy over the past few decades and discusses the symposium, from planning to evaluation.

OVERVIEW OF HEALTH LITERACY

Language is defined as "the method of human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in an agreed way; a professional or specialized vocabulary" (Abate, 1998, p. 456). For many years public librarians and adult educators have been involved in the written aspect of communication (that is, the ability to read and write) through various literacy programs. More recently, health professionals have become aware of the work of adult educators and have begun working with them to enhance the public's health literacy and to develop readable health information resources. In 2003 the medical library community began to take steps to define its role in lowering the barriers of language and culture for those trying to access health information.

The term health literacy was first used in 1974 (Simonds, 1974), and links between illiteracy and health were subsequently noted in articles written in the decades that followed. According to Rima Rudd, a Harvard…