Building Capacity to Increase Health Literacy in China

Dr. Ruotao Wang MD, PhD, MSL

Member of CCLH

27 April 2009

Emphasizing Three Issues

• Understand Health Literacy Better

• Education and Health Service Providers are the Key Stakeholders for Increasing Health Literacy in Chinese Citizens.

• Personal Communication and Community Based Outreach Skills are the Most Needed Skills for the Key Stakeholders in order to Increase and Sustain

Health Literacy of Chinese Citizens .

Understand Health Literacy Better

• Pre-conditions for Building Health Literacy

• Two Perspectives in Understanding Health Literacy

• Three Levels in Health Literacy Progress

• Health Literacy is One of the Four Fundamental Determinants of Health

Pre-conditions for Building Health Literacy

• Literacy originally means to have capacity of reading, writing, and arithmetically accounting---basic language and numerical literacy

• General literacy in an information era---capacity of seeking, understanding, analyzing relevant information, and then making a proper decision---ethical and social literacy as well as scientific and technological literacy

• Specific literacy for health---health literacy

Two Perspective in Understanding Health Literacy

• Clinical Medicine Perspective---

• Public Health Perspective---

Three Levels in Health Literacy Progress

• Functional--- capacity in compliance with medical care providers or/and public health workers

• Interactive--- capacity to communicate and discuss with medical care providers or/and public health workers

• Critical--- capacity to critically analyze relavent information and self-efficaciously make a health related decision

Health Literacy is One of the Four Determinants of Health

• Four Fundamental Determinants of Health

• Genetic make-up and Natural Environment

• Social and Economical Environment

• Health Technology and Service System

• Individual life-style and health literacy

• Education and Health Service Providers are the Key Stakeholders for Increasing Health Literacy in Chinese Citizens

Health Literacy is the Outcome of Health Education

• Family Education• School Education• Ethical and Humanistic Education• Rational and Scientific Education• Mass Media Communication• Organizational and Personal Communication • Patients Education and Communication

From Definition To Measurement

• Health literacy could have the universal definition, but the instrument to measure it might be context & culture depended.

• Health literacy, by definition, is a living CAPACITY, rather than a fixed items of knowledge and behavior, however, when we actually measure it---CONTENTS dependent.

• Where Health Literacy of Chinese Citizens Currently Stands ?

Develop an instrument to measure Health Literacy in China

• In 2005 a project was implemented for exploring the evaluation of health literacy in China

• A national wide survey was conducted in 2008 for evaluation of the level of health literacy in Chinese citizens----a questionnaire developed based on Health Literacy 66

• --- Contents Fixed Functional Literacy

Need An Action to Increase Health Literacy for Chinese Citizens!

• According to the 2005 and 2008 survey, there is a big gap between what we stand and where we want to go!

•

• Four components---basic knowledge, believes/values, behaviors, and skills

Recent Initiatives to Increase Health Literacy in China

• A book published with a title of Health Literacy 66---reading materials for Chinese citizens.

• . • A national health literacy contests were

carried out to increase the public awareness, especially among Chinese farmers.

• Personal Communication and Community Based Outreach Skills are the Most Needed Skills for the Key Stakeholders in order to Increase and Sustain health Literacy of

Chinese Citizens

Factors Shaping Health Literacy in Chinese Population

• Education needs to include health education from the beginning---from basic literacy to general and then to specific.

• Mass Media---from raising the awareness to health agenda setting, from message distribution to value/believe preference.

• Health Care Services System---Negotiation and communication with patients and their families.

• Public Health Education--- More Community based Outreach adapted to specific Socio-Cultural Context and Environment

Various Stakeholders

• Government leaders and officers • Educators in schools and other educational

institutes • Health care providers and health

practitioners • News Reporters and Public Stars (TV,

Movies…) • Patients and their families

Multi-sectoral Cooperation in Better IEC for Advanced Health literacy

• Capacity of evaluating various health information for its credibility and quality, analyzing related health risk and benefits in a complex modern society.

• Capacity of communication and dialogue among patients, their medical care providers, and health insurance agency.

• Thanks!