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MU Health Policy Center receives grant to improve Missouri’s health literacy The University of Missouri Center for Health Policy has received a $726,784 grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health to build the infrastructure for an interactive, comprehensive health literacy resource throughout the state. The grant is part of $7.1 million in funding approved by the Missouri Foundation for Health to establish its Missouri Health Literacy Enhancement initiative. Representatives from the MU Center for Health Policy and the MU School of Journalism are currently conducting two national surveys. One survey is designed to evaluate the distribution and understanding of health information through the media to the public. The other survey targets health literacy leaders to determine the types of educational tools needed and the best resources available to improve health literacy among Missourians. In addition, a team from the J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Research Library is identifying, categorizing and evaluating health literacy resources for future use for the initiative. “The health literacy enhancement initiative envisions a future in which the policies and practices of Missouri’s health-care institutions can offer the best possible outcomes by involving patients in their own health decisions,” said Karen Edison, M.D., co-director of the MU Center for Health Policy. “We want to ensure that information resources are available and encourage interactions between health care providers and the public to promote a greater understanding of health and medical information.” “The improved and sustained health of all Missourians can be assured by developing a collaborative, comprehensive effort that promotes enhanced quality of health,” said Kristofer Hagglund, Ph.D., co-director of the Center for Health Policy. The new initiative is a first step in helping Missourians better understand basic health information. According to an Institute of Medicine report, low health literacy affects approximately half of the nation’s population and costs the health care system as much as $58 billion per year. In addition, because more than 90 million Americans have difficulty using and understanding health information, there is a higher rate of hospitalization and use of emergency services for primary care visits, particularly among minority and immigrant population groups. Understanding that many Missourians are among those who struggle with health literacy issues, the Missouri Foundation for Health has provided funding to the University of Missouri, St. Louis University and Missouri State University to develop a framework to improve health literacy in the state and to participate in a coordinating council to develop statewide strategies. Representatives from all three universities and the foundation comprise the council. The leadership team at MU consists of Edison, Hagglund and Gwen Ratermann, associate director of the Center for Health Policy. Project advisors include Glen T. Cameron, Ph.D., Maxine Wilson Gregory Chair in Journalism Research at the MU School of Journalism; Deb Ward, M.A., M.S.L.S., director of the J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Research Library; David Fleming, M.D., director of the MU Center for Health Ethics; Amy Lake, M.S., extension associate for MU Extension’s Division of Applied Social Sciences; Jim Campbell, Ph.D., professor and research director of the MU School of Medicine’s Department of Family and Community Medicine; and Melinda Bier, Ph.D., research scientist at the University of Missouri-St. Louis College of Education’s Center for Character and Citizenship. Established in 2000, the Missouri Foundation for Health is the largest non-governmental provider of funding for community health activities in Missouri. The foundation is in its sixth year of grant-making, having issued more than $260 million in grants and awards to date. It is dedicated to serving the uninsured, underinsured and underserved in 84 Missouri counties and the City of St. Louis. |
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