The document discusses Australia's past efforts to address health literacy, which have been fragmented. It outlines a national stocktake of health literacy initiatives that found many different programs but little coordination. There is now strong support for a coordinated national approach to health literacy that embeds it in policies and education for both consumers and healthcare providers. The National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards provide an existing framework to help guide improved health literacy.

1. The state we are in:
A (new) national approach to
health literacy in Australia
Nicola Dunbar, Health Literacy Network Conference, 26 November 2013

2. Where have we come from?

Goals and targets for Australia’s health – 1993

Lots of good work – but fragmented

Australian Bureau of Statistics report – 2008

Reflected in national policy and reform processes, such
as:
• National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission, 2009
• National Primary Care Strategy, 2010

Increasingly being recognised as a safety and quality
issue

3. Australian Safety and Quality Framework for
Health Care – 2010

4. Australian Safety and Quality Goals for
Health Care – 2012

5. National health literacy stock take

Aim: collect information about health literacy initiatives in
Australia

Timeframe: December 2011-March 2012

66 submissions, over 200 separate initiatives

There are many different organisations doing work to
improve health literacy or reduce barriers

A range of different approaches are being taken

Efforts are fragmented with little potential for learning

6. Types of strategies and approaches

7. Consumers, the health system and health literacy:
Taking action to improve safety and quality

Consultation paper released by the Commission in June
2013

Raise awareness about importance of health literacy and
how it can be addressed

Proposes that to address health literacy in a coordinated
way, then need to:
• embed health literacy into high-level systems and
organisational policies and practices
• have clear, focused and usable health information and
effective interpersonal communication
• integrate health literacy into education for consumers and
healthcare providers

8. Feedback on consultation

9. Feedback on consultation – How to address
health literacy in the future

National coordination and collaboration in addressing
health literacy
• large scale national change, eg legislation, accreditation,
regulation, national strategy, national action plan
• re-engineering existing infrastructures and systems to
embed health literacy
• cultural and organisational change required

Support further research
• build evidence base
• increase understanding of health literacy in Australian
health system
• health literacy and vulnerable groups

10. Feedback on consultation – How to address
health literacy in the future

Integration of health literacy into education and training
• consumers
• national curriculum for schools
• healthcare providers (vocational, undergraduate,
postgraduate)
• support and administrative staff in healthcare
organisations
• professionals outside the health sector who have an
influence in health settings

11. Feedback on health literacy – How to address
health literacy in the future

Access to high quality information about health and
health care
• importance of technology – positive and negative
• national clearing house
• resources for consumers to evaluate information

Development of tools and resources
• frameworks and action plans
• successful initiatives / tools
• targeted resources for vulnerable groups
• training resources
• case studies

12. Where to next

Commission:
• final health literacy paper to Health Ministers for
endorsement mid-2014
• health literacy environment – how to make it easier for
people to navigate, access, understand and use health
information and services
• possible consensus statement, supported by tools and
resources

13. We already have the beginnings of a national
approach to health literacy…

14. National Safety and Quality Health Service
Standards – from January 2013
Standard 1
Governance for Safety and
Quality in Health
Service Organisations
Standard 2
Partnering with
Consumers
Standard 3
Healthcare
Associated
Infections
Standard 10
Preventing Falls and
Harm from Falls
Standard 4
Medication
Safety
Standard 9
Recognising and
Responding to Clinical
Deterioration in Acute
Health Care
Standard 5
Patient Identification
and Procedure
Matching
Standard 8
Preventing and
Managing Pressure
Injuries
Standard 7
Blood and Blood
Products
Standard 6
Clinical
Handover

15. National Safety and Quality Health Service
Standards and health literacy
Implementing processes to enable
partnership with patients in
decisions about their care
Informing patients and
carers about the risk of
falls and falls prevention
strategies
Providing information to
patients about how they
can raise concerns
about potential
deterioration
Informing high-risk patients
and their carers about the
risks, prevention strategies
and management of
pressure injuries
The clinical workforce providing
information about blood and blood
product treatment options, and the
associated risks and benefits
Consulting with consumers on
patient information distributed
by the organisation
Patient infection
prevention and control
information is evaluated to
determine if it meets the
needs of the target
audience
Information on
medicines is
provided in a
format that is
understood and
meaningful

16. Summary

Consumers who are true partners in health and health care is a
necessary requirement for a sustainable and effective system

Focussing on health literacy is one way of achieving this goal

Strong support for a coordinated and collaborative national approach

There is a lot of work that has been done already that can be built on

NSQHS Standards provide an important driver

nicola.dunbar@safetyandquality.gov.au

Acknowledgements
• Commission: Naomi Poole, Rhia Buick, Vannary Sar
• Health Literacy Advisory Group
• Submissions to the consultation paper