Agenda-Monday, November 1, 2021

 Panel A

Health Literacy and COVID-19: International Perspectives on the Public Response to a Pandemic

Background: COVID-19 has become an unprecedented public health threat in modern times. Beyond consequences to personal health associated with acquiring the virus, the impact of the pandemic may likely extend to non-COVID-19 outcomes as an individual’s ability to self-manage health and chronic conditions during and after a pandemic may be compromised for several reasons. First, multiple virus surges led local authorities in countries across the globe to introduce community-wide restrictions that have limited or changed access to in-person healthcare services. Second, fear of COVID-19 might also have drive patients to avoid seeking medical care, even in acute circumstances. Third, recommended social distancing practices, and disruptions to daily routines may alter adults’ lifestyle (e.g. alcohol/substance use, physical activity, diet, sleep). Fourth, the pandemic has devastated the U.S. economy and many individuals’ socioeconomic circumstances - affecting healthcare coverage and access. Finally, cumulative stress, social isolation, grief and loss due to COVID-19 may have a sustained impact on mental health and well-being, the ability to adhere to treatment, self-manage chronic conditions, maintain functional status and achieve optimal health outcomes.

Objective: With this proposed panel, we bring together researchers from four different countries with harmonized data collection centered around adults’ awareness, attitudes, and behaviors related to COVID-19 across a range of time points – from the very beginning of the outbreak and throughout the following surges a year later. This includes Australia (McCaffrey), Denmark (Nielsen), United Kingdom (Scotland; Fawns-Ritchie) and the United States (Paasche-Orlow (moderator), Wolf).

  Panel B

Health Literacy & Engaged Decision-Making Across the Cancer Care Continuum

Cancer is a heterogeneous and complex disease that requires multifaceted decisions, especially with advancements in imaging, therapeutics, and genetics that can offer patients personalized screening and treatment regimens. This series of presentations will address health literacy considerations in the design, development, testing, and/or implementation of decision-making interventions at different stages of the cancer care continuum. Following brief presentations on individual tools that seek to improve a complex decision along the cancer care continuum, discussion will focus on themes guided by the recently updated recommendations to make decision tools more inclusive for populations across the health literacy spectrum from the International Patient Decision Aid Standards (IPDAS).

The moderator will guide panelists to discuss the key issues of: 1) Creating and using metrics beyond readability, such as actionability, in designing tools seeking to address health literacy needs; 2) Partnering with populations that have limited health literacy in intervention design; 3) Use of audiovisual features to improve comprehension; 4) Measurement of health literacy and decisional outcomes to demonstrate tool efficacy or effectiveness in the target population. Each of the panelists will discuss how they have integrated these recommendations into their work, as well as lessons learned in the process of doing so. A facilitated discussion will identify future areas for growth in creating and testing tools that empower patient decision-making across the cancer care continuum.

 Panel C

Technology to Support Individuals Across the Health Literacy Spectrum

There is now a significant body of research into the development and evaluation of user interfaces designed specifically for populations with low health literacy. This work demonstrates the potential of technology to reduce health literacy-based disparities by providing information in a format that is more understandable and actionable than mainstream media.

In this panel discussion, we will briefly review our own research in developing and studying user interfaces and systems for individuals with low health literacy, before addressing important advances, issues, and barriers in furthering this area of research and disseminating the results to those in need. Topics to be discussed include:

• Challenges in designing user interfaces for individuals with low health literacy.
• Methodologies for designing user interfaces for individuals with low health literacy.
• Synergies with the “HCI4D” research community.
• Approaches to automated assessment of health literacy.
• Technologies for improving provider-patient communication and the patient experience.
• Technologies to actually improve health literacy, e.g., through education, skills training, reading and math instruction.
• Barriers to the development and dissemination of technology for health literacy.
  

SIG for Nursing: Policy, Practice and Armadillos: Nurses role in Health Literacy during a Pandemic Era

The Nursing Special Interest Group will explore the changes in practice that evolved during the pandemic and how they will impact nursing practice in the future. Topics will include equity, health disparities, policy changes at the systems, state and federal level. We will explore recommendations for the future policy change using evidence based outcomes to improve the health disparities of patients and families with a focus on vulnerable populations living in rural and underserved areas.

• Explore how health literacy initiatives during the pandemic will lead to greater health equity in the future
• Identify lessons learned: health literacy during the pandemic and nurses' role to improve health outcomes and reduce disparities
• Identify system-wide/government/policy changes brought on by the pandemic and discuss strategies for ensuring lessons learned will lead to improvements for patients and families

The common theme is lessons learned and policy changes through nursing practice and research studies. Major points of discussion will include:

1. Evidenced based practice policy changes brought on by nursing practice during the pandemic
2. Policy changes at the federal level and strategies for how to build upon the progress brought on to expand nursing practice.
3. Research by nurses and/or interprofessional /interdisciplinary teams that included nurses and how they will change practice in the future both acute and primary care.