Case Study Article

Approximately one-third of adults in the United States have limited health literacy in the capacity to obtain, process, and understand the basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions (Cutilli & Bennett, 2009). In this article, it will explore a case study by summarizing the focus, identifying the data collected and analyzed, and contrasting the outcomes with current industry to evaluate the application of these practices and discuss the results of implementing a new practice.

Case Study Focus

The “Connecticut Rehab Facility Boosts Health Literacy Skills with AHRQ Toolkit” case study focuses on the workshops at the Greenwich Woods skilled nursing facility developed and administered by Dr. Koenig, an academic fieldwork coordinator, to increase awareness of patients health literacy challenges. Through the workshops, therapy and rehabilitation staff engaged in six modules covering interventions, recommendations, and information provided in AHRQ’s health literacy toolkit in addition to “plan/do/study/act” exercises on how to put the new information into practice (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2018).

Case Study Data

From the case study, Dr. Koenig developed pre- and post-workshop quizzes and a survey for the therapy and rehabilitation staff to gauge progress by assessing the knowledge of health literacy and the perceived ability to implement interventions. The data collected and analyzed resulted in score improvements on health literacy quizzes by 36 percent and self-rated ability to assess and implement health literacy interventions by 17 percent (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2018).


Case Study Outcomes with Current Industry Standards

With current industry standards, there are few discussions in the scientific literature on rehabilitation and the relevance of health literacy resulting in majority of rehabilitation professionals that do not know enough about health literacy and rarely integrate it into practices (Levasseur & Carrier, 2010). On the other hand, the outcomes of the case study reflect where a focus on improving awareness of health literacy is in the best interest of health professionals and patients (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2018).

Application and Implementation of Practices

Beyond the healthcare industry, my organization in the real estate industry could apply similar practices from the case study by improving awareness of home loan programs and homebuyer education through trainings and resources in partnership with external sources. By partnering with external sources, the results of implementing a new practice bridges the financial and informational gaps of homeownership for real estate professionals and homebuyers (Washington State Housing Finance Commission, 2018).

Conclusion

Through the article, the focus on improving awareness through workshops are beneficial to the professionals and the consumers in any industry. From the case study, therapy and rehabilitation staff improved on the ability to assess and implement health literacy interventions for patients after the workshops. With applying and implementing practices, the real estate industry bridges educational gaps in the processes of home loan programs and homebuyer education through workshops on improving awareness.

References

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2018). Connecticut Rehab Facility Boosts Health Literacy Skills with AHRQ Toolkit. Retrieved from https://www.ahrq.gov/news/newsroom/case-studies/201805.html

Cutilli, C. C., & Bennett, I. M. (2009). Understanding the health literacy of America: results of the National Assessment of Adult Literacy. Orthopedic nursing, 28(1), 27–34. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NOR.0000345852.22122.d6

Levasseur, M., & Carrier, A. (2010). Do rehabilitation professionals need to consider their clients' health literacy for effective practice?. Clinical rehabilitation, 24(8), 756–765. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269215509360752

Washington State Housing Finance Commission. (2018). Welcome, Real Estate Professionals. Retrieved from https://www.wshfc.org/sf/realestatepro.htm