OR7. Health Literacy and the Inpatient Nurse: Defining Core Competencies at an Academic Medical Center

Limited health literacy is a national health crisis contributing to poor health outcomes including increased hospital readmissions, increased healthcare cost, decreased use of preventive services, and increased morbidity and mortality. Efforts to improve the health literacy of the nation hinge on healthcare provider-level interventions to address social determinants of health. However, these strategies represent an area of care which inpatient providers may not be prepared. Despite cascading poor outcomes associated with limited health literacy, staff nurses at a large urban medical center are not professionally prepared with integral health literacy competencies, skill sets, or screening tools to identify and support their patients.
Source: Heart and Lung - Category: Intensive Care Authors: Tags: Practice Improvement Source Type: research