Agenda-Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Tuesday, October 31 • 10:40am – 11:30am EST

Large language models, powering chatbots such as ChatGPT, Bing, and Bard, hold great promise for individuals with low health literacy. They can be used to simplify and explain complex medical documents, provide medical advice, and even author patient education materials from scratch. However, there are significant risks associated with their use for medical advice, given their proclivity to fabricate false statements. These risks are amplified for those with low health literacy, since these individuals may have a more difficult time composing appropriate prompts, understanding output text that is often at too high a reading level, and recognizing false statements. In this talk, I will discuss these issues and some remediation strategies for leveraging the power of large language models in a safe way to improve the delivery of medical information for individuals across the health literacy spectrum.

Tuesday, October 31 • 11:30am – 1:00pm EST

This session will focus on attitudes and competencies that help individuals to navigate and evaluate health information from a wide range of sources. It will also discuss strategies of respectful, culturally humble engagement to build trust and strengthen information skills. David Kaufman will address how different social media platforms mediate the spread of misinformation and the cognitive consequences. The presentations will also characterize the social and cognitive dimensions that predispose individuals’ receptivity to specious health information. Catherine Arnott Smith will talk about real and imagined challenges of professional medical terminology for non-professional audiences, specifically in the wake of the CURES Act which mandates Open Notes. Technical terminology has been repeatedly shown to create confusion for a small but persistent subset of patients accessing their clinical documentation – which creates new vulnerabilities for those seeking “translations” online. Alla Keselman will discuss science literacy as a component of health literacy, with an emphasis on engagement strategies to strengthen trust in science and scientists as sources of reliable health information. The panel will conclude with a discussion about ways to strengthen the science and practice of health information literacy.

Tuesday, October 31 • 11:30am – 1:00pm EST

The panelists in this session are members of the IUHPE Global Working Group on Health Literacy core group leadership who, in addition to their research expertise, represent international partners and stakeholders. Following a presentation of the revised Position Statement, the session panelists will give their reflection on the importance of advocating for health literacy each from her/his own perspective. The panelists will reflect on the contribution of the Position Statement and will share how the strategic recommendations in the Position Statement align with organizations that they lead/are actively involved in.

Tuesday, October 31 • 1:30pm – 2:30pm EST

This special interest group discussion will focus on organizational health literacy as a tool for health equity, with a specific focus on implementation in early childhood settings. First, we will facilitate a discussion to identify the components of organizational health literacy and explain the relationship between organizational health literacy, health equity, and early childhood research and practice. Next, we will facilitate a case study discussion to solve specific problems in early childhood settings using an organizational health literacy lens. To do this, we will offer a short, prepared case study that we will review together. Then, we will engage participants in a problem-solving conversation to identify or address where and how organizational health literacy best practices could be used to increase facilitators, or reduce or eliminate barriers.

Tuesday, October 31 • 4:30pm – 5:30pm EST

In this workshop, attendees will learn how to apply a co-creation approach to material testing. This approach involves isolating aspects of a material (i.e., content, images, design and layout) and developing those aspects with participants in real time. This workshop will be interactive, so come ready to learn and practice using this approach!

Tuesday, October 31 • 4:30pm – 5:30pm EST

This workshop will interest professionals familiar with the current HLO guidelines and researchers interested in digital health literacy, usability and user experience, inclusive design, accessibility, and related topics. Facilitators will use a variety of techniques — like individual reflection, small group discussions, and digital white boards — to help attendees

• Understand the process ODPHP is using to update the 2nd edition of HLO to reflect current best practices and advances in the field of health literacy
• Contribute to the development of draft guidelines to be included in the 3rd edition of HLO
• Identify ways to use HLO and digital health literacy best practices in their work