DRWF pledges to provide evidence-based healthcare information for all
DRWF makes commitment to providing clear and easy-to-understand health information this Health Literacy Month.
Health Literacy Month is held throughout October – and this month DRWF is stating its commitment to providing high-quality, clearly communicated, evidence-based healthcare information for people living with diabetes, their family and carers.
DRWF publishes a series of professionally authored resources on diabetes and related health which are available free of charge as digital download, audio file or hard copy on request.
We do this to ensure that people with diabetes can make informed decisions about their health and improve outcomes, safe in the knowledge that our information is trustworthy and reliable. To this end, we are members of the Patient Information Forum (PIF). An independent, not-for-profit organisation that represents more than 300 organisations across the NHS, voluntary, academic, freelance and commercial sectors.
Crisis in adult literacy directly impacts on people’s health
According to Health Education England there are 7.1 million adults in the UK who read and write at or below the level of a nine-year-old and, critically, 43% of adults do not understand written health information.
A statement from Health Education England said: “Providing reliable easy-to-understand health information in accessible formats for patients and communities can help people make better decisions about their health and take an active part in planning their own care. Being armed with greater knowledge can also have a huge impact on how people respond to treatment, recover from illness and manage a long-term condition.
“At the same time, using straightforward language can give people the confidence to ask questions without feeling uncomfortable or foolish.
“All year round, Health Education England’s national Library and Knowledge Services team work with local NHS library and knowledge specialists across England to help them to share their expertise in this field. Health Literacy Month provides a further opportunity to have more conversations about health literacy with more of their NHS colleagues, their peers in the third sector and carers.”
Patrick Mitchell, Director of Innovation and Transformation at Health Education England, said “it is such a basic need for people to understand more about their health and wellbeing. Developing the health literacy training programme is just one of the many actions we are taking to enable health and care staff to have the tools and build the skills to more effective in supporting patients, families and carers to understand their treatment or preventative measures.”
Ruth Carlyle, who leads Health Education England work on health literacy as part of delivering Knowledge for Healthcare said: “Improving health literacy is not about dumbing down information but simply making information about health much more accessible. At the same time, it gives staff the confidence to communicate with patients and carers, safe in the knowledge they are providing appropriate information and advice that people truly understand.”
The National Literacy Trust said: “In England, 18% of adults aged 16 to 65, or 6.6 million people, can be described as having "very poor literacy skills." This means they can understand short straightforward texts on familiar topics accurately and independently, and obtain information from everyday sources but reading information from unfamiliar sources or on unfamiliar topics could cause problems. This is also known as being functionally illiterate.” The Patient Information Forum (PIF) published a one-page infographic that makes the case for the development of health literate information.
A statement from PIF said: “The principles for development echo the PIF TICK criteria. They can be applied to all health information, in all formats whatever the topic – from vaccines to verruca. The infographic was designed in response to member demand. It makes the case that health literate information is not ‘dumbed down’, rather it promotes equity.”
Read the DRWF series of diabetes information resources
I would like to make a regular donation of
There are lots of ways to raise money to support
people living with all forms of diabetes.
Bake, Swim, Cycle, Fly ... Do It For DRWF!
Fundraise with us
Recent News
