Health Lit Res Pract. 2021 Feb 11;5(1):e35-e48. doi: 10.3928/24748307-20210114-01.
Organizational health literacy (OHL) within the public health setting is lacking.
The aim of this study was to form a health literacy (HL) improvement team consisting of university researchers and Virginia Department of Health (VDH) district directors and staff to assess and improve OHL practices of VDH staff in four medically underserved health districts in southwest Virginia.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit guided this mixed-methods needs assessment and improvement plan. VDH staff completed a 44-item survey adapted from this Toolkit and a roundtable discussion to indicate their perceptions of current OHL practices. VDH clients completed a survey including seven items measuring perceptions of staff OHL practices and three items measuring subjective HL.
About one-half of VDH staff (n = 252, 88% female, average age 49 ± 12 years, 23% ≤ high school education [HS]) reported "doing well" across all OHL domains. Staff survey and roundtable discussion revealed the need to strengthen the written communication domain. Among 185 VDH clients (82% female, average age 33 ± 14 years, 40% ≤ HS), perceptions of staff OHL practices were high, ranging from 3.07 to 3.64 (scale of 1-4). Client HL status was significantly positively correlated (p < .01-.05) with 5 of 7 OHL practices. Findings aided development and initial implementation of an OHL improvement plan, including e-newsletters and in-person workshops. On average, 60% of staff opened quarterly e-newsletters. Staff ratings of the Clear Communication Index workshop were high in terms of utility and applicability of content.
Results reflected notable strengths and weaknesses in current OHL practices from staff and client perspectives, with the greatest need identified in written communication. E-newsletter series and in-person workshops on the Clear Communication Index helped lay groundwork for additional HL improvement activities for VDH staff. Limitations and future recommendations for public health settings are discussed. [HLRP: Health Literacy Research and Practice. 2021;5(1):e35-e48.] PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: This study describes use of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit to conduct an organizational health literacy needs assessment and improvement plan in a public health setting, the Virginia Department of Health. Assessment of staff and clients revealed strengths and weaknesses in organizational health literacy practices. Feedback guided efforts to improve organizational health literacy capacity.
公共卫生领域的组织健康素养（OHL）较为缺乏。
本研究旨在组建一个由大学研究人员和弗吉尼亚州卫生部（VDH）地区主管及工作人员组成的健康素养（HL）改进团队，以评估和改进弗吉尼亚州西南部四个医疗服务不足的卫生区 VDH 工作人员的 OHL 实践。
美国医疗保健研究与质量局健康素养普遍预防工具包指导了这项混合方法需求评估和改进计划。VDH 员工完成了一份 44 项的调查问卷，该问卷改编自该工具包，还进行了一次圆桌讨论，以表明他们对当前 OHL 实践的看法。VDH 客户完成了一项调查，其中包括七项衡量员工 OHL 实践看法的项目和三项衡量主观 HL 的项目。
约一半的 VDH 员工（n=252，88%为女性，平均年龄 49±12 岁，23%≤高中学历）在所有 OHL 领域的报告中都“表现良好”。员工调查和圆桌讨论揭示了需要加强书面沟通领域。在 185 名 VDH 客户中（82%为女性，平均年龄 33±14 岁，40%≤高中学历），对员工 OHL 实践的看法很高，范围在 3.07 到 3.64（1-4 分制）。客户 HL 状况与 7 项 OHL 实践中的 5 项呈显著正相关（p<.01-.05）。研究结果为制定和初步实施 OHL 改进计划提供了帮助，包括电子通讯和现场研讨会。平均而言，每季度有 60%的员工会打开电子通讯。员工对清晰沟通指数研讨会的实用性和适用性评价很高。
从员工和客户的角度来看，结果反映了当前 OHL 实践中的显著优势和劣势，其中书面沟通的需求最大。电子通讯系列和清晰沟通指数的现场研讨会为 VDH 员工开展更多的 HL 改进活动奠定了基础。讨论了公共卫生领域的局限性和未来建议。
