t literate, in either of the languages spoken in Paraguay. There were definitely ways to work through this challenge...I had to be creative with how I chose to get the health information across to them without using written words...instead lots of visuals including posters, pictures, etc. Although this experience was not in a U.S. setting, reflecting on it made me remember that there are other ways to communicate health messages without relying on written messages. It may not be the cheapest and/or easiest way (in the educator's mind), but as the video we watched in class pointed out, health literacy is an issue in the U.S. and is an important issue that needs attention. While it needs our attention as health promoters, to have an ever more wide spread influence we also need to have buy in from the policy makers who create all the confusing forms and documentation that alienates those who cannot read them.
March 11, 2008
Week 7: Health Literacy
Talking about health literacy in this week's class made me remember some of the experiences I had as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Paraguay. I worked with several women's groups there and ended up designing a health course for the women I worked with, so that they could learn more about health topics that they identified as important to them. One challenge to teaching this group of mostly middle-aged women was that the majority of them were no
t literate, in either of the languages spoken in Paraguay. There were definitely ways to work through this challenge...I had to be creative with how I chose to get the health information across to them without using written words...instead lots of visuals including posters, pictures, etc. Although this experience was not in a U.S. setting, reflecting on it made me remember that there are other ways to communicate health messages without relying on written messages. It may not be the cheapest and/or easiest way (in the educator's mind), but as the video we watched in class pointed out, health literacy is an issue in the U.S. and is an important issue that needs attention. While it needs our attention as health promoters, to have an ever more wide spread influence we also need to have buy in from the policy makers who create all the confusing forms and documentation that alienates those who cannot read them.
t literate, in either of the languages spoken in Paraguay. There were definitely ways to work through this challenge...I had to be creative with how I chose to get the health information across to them without using written words...instead lots of visuals including posters, pictures, etc. Although this experience was not in a U.S. setting, reflecting on it made me remember that there are other ways to communicate health messages without relying on written messages. It may not be the cheapest and/or easiest way (in the educator's mind), but as the video we watched in class pointed out, health literacy is an issue in the U.S. and is an important issue that needs attention. While it needs our attention as health promoters, to have an ever more wide spread influence we also need to have buy in from the policy makers who create all the confusing forms and documentation that alienates those who cannot read them.
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