Health Literacy and Health Education: a new partnership funded by the European Commission

Authors: 
Cammarano Rosaria Rosanna, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Italy
Della Seta Maurella, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Italy
Falcone Maria Alessandra, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Italy
Ferrari Paola, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Italy
Leone Luisa, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Italy
Pizzarelli Scilla, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Italy
Abstract: 

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to present the preliminary results of the “Health Literacy and Health Education” partnership, funded by the European Commission within the Grundtvig Learning Partnership-Lifelong Learning Program.

The Grundtvig Learning Partnership Program is a framework for small-scale cooperation activities among organizations that work in the field of adult education in the broadest sense.

Health literacy was defined in Health People 2010 report of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as: "The degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions". Health literacy and health education empower patients and citizens to participate to the full in their health care and to communicate on eye level with their health professionals, possibly overcoming health inequalities caused by social determinants of health.

Recent initiatives of the European Parliament foster the importance of advancing health literacy in all member states. In this context, librarians and information specialists are in a position to play a key role in retrieving, validating and disseminating health information for the general public.

The “Health Literacy and Health Education” partnership, which will last from 2011 to 2013, fosters health literacy as an important part of adult and continuous education.

The four partnership organizations involved in this project are:

  • Frauengesundheitszentrum – Women’s Health Centre – Graz, Austria www.fgz.co.at
  • Komiteen for Sundhedsoplysning – Danish Committee for Health Education  – Copenhagen, Denmark www.sundkom.dk
  • Istituto Superiore di Sanità –  National Institute of Health – Rome, Italy www.iss.it .

Objectives

This learning partnership aims at offering an opportunity to get to know and work together with staff of European adult education organizations, NGO and public institutions, in order to build up alliances for advocating health literacy at a national and a European level. Furthermore, this learning partnership aims at raising intercultural skills among participants, as well as at enhancing knowledge and expertise on health literacy as a central issue in lifelong learning. It gathers experts, practitioners, researchers, advocacy groups and allows getting to know how colleagues from across Europe approach health literacy. Participants are able to discuss challenges and issues to advance health literacy at a national level with colleagues, and may compare approaches and find solutions.

More specifically, the learning partnership objectives are:

  • getting in touch with European adult education organizations, NGOs and public institutions experienced in health literacy;
  • discussing different approaches, strategies and policies advancing health literacy across European countries;
  • sharing skills, experiences and ideas;
  • exchanging and discussing various national target group-specific training programs for improving health literacy;
  • strengthening long-term partnerships and networks among European adult education organizations to build a critical mass of stakeholders promoting health literacy among European citizens.

Methods

The partnership core consists of four face to face meetings, planned, organized and hosted by the four partnering organizations in their respective European countries (Austria, Denmark, Switzerland and Italy) in Autumn 2011, Spring 2012, Autumn 2012 and Spring 2013.

The meetings bring together staff members of the involved organizations, working on health literacy and health education.  The methodology adopted in the meetings is to use the resources of all participants by distributing work packages such as giving presentations, organizing communications, taking over methodological parts and sharing skills and experiences.

The partners have therefore the possibility to learn from each other and benefit from the collaboration with organizations coming from the public and private sector, research and training sector; as a consequence, they may be able to transfer models of good practice to their home country and to incorporate new strategies and policies into their ongoing activities.

Results

Two meetings were held in November 2011, Graz  and April 2012, Copenhagen.

The first meeting, whose topic was “Health literacy and health education”,  was aimed at getting to know each other, by the presentation of each organization activities in these fields. The health literacy status in the partnering countries was deeply discussed, together with the role that each organization plays to foster health literacy and health education in its country. Examples of public health campaigns and interventions addressed to citizens were examined by the participants, together with possible evaluation methods of such initiatives.

The second meeting  focused on “Training programs for patients and general public”. Each country presented the initiatives developed, e.g. training programs for young people on the subject of substance abuse and alcohol drinking; a women health training program; a training program on orphan drugs targeted to patients’ associations and families of patients with rare diseases. Different training methods used by participants of different countries were compared and analyzed.

The third and fourth meeting, to be organized in Zurich and Rome, will respectively focus on “Health information and guidelines available on the Internet”, and on “ Strategies and models of good practice for advancing health literacy”.

Discussion

The expected impact of the partnership at the end of the project in 2013 is primarily to get new impulses for all areas of participants work, and strengthen their role as organizations advocating health literacy. Furthermore, the possibility of comparing and refining  training activities addressed to consumers and patients may contribute to improve program outcomes, as well as personal skills in building capacities for user-oriented programs in the health care and social sector.

At meetings, partnership members have already had the opportunity of learning  from different approaches, strategies and models of good practice and of raising their intercultural skills. At the end of the project they might be able to build  up alliances for advocating health literacy at a national and a European level.

Keywords: 
Health Literacy, Health Education, European Union, International Cooperation
References: 
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Category: 
New roles of health librarians
Type of presentation: 
Poster