Prevalence and Predictors of Limited Literacy in Public Mental Health Care

Lincoln, Alisa K.; Eyllon, Mara; Prener, Christopher; Garverich, Suzanne; Griffith, John L.; Adams, Wallis E.; Arford, Tammi; Rosenfeld, Lindsay; Nykiel, Sherry; Johnson, Peggy; Guyer, Margaret; Leung, Y. Jude

doi:10.1007/s10597-020-00750-0

Cited by 5 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 30 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Barriers. The documents had a noticeable mismatch between demands (11th-12th grade-level reading skills) and shelter guests' reading skills (about 5th grade) ( Lincoln et al, 2021 ). Also problematic are the lack of brevity, plain language, active voice, and appropriate graphics and formatting.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Exploring each assessment item-by-item reveals opportunities for improvement. Shelter staff could create or revise written materials for easier use; this includes a reading level of 5th grade or below ( Lincoln et al, 2021 ). Staff could also break up long documents into multiple shorter documents or more clearly delineate sections to increase the focus and clarity of each.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lastly, the MDMH Institutional Review Board changed their policy for consent forms used with people engaging with mental health services. The reading grade level demand of a document must now be below an 8th grade level ( Lincoln et al, 2021 ); previously it was not specified. Likewise, MDMH is making plans to conduct organizational health literacy assessments across MDMH facilities, based on their new understanding of the crucial role of the environment in facilitating access to and receipt of services and treatment in mental health settings.…”

Section: Reflections From Shelter Leadership and Stakeholdersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To explore organizational health literacy in the mental health setting, a team was developed (The Literacy Interventions Team, hereafter The Team) including partners who had recently been part of a study to explore the prevalence of limited literacy in the lives of people living with mental illness using public mental health outpatient services. Study participants had lower rates of literacy than the general U.S. adult population, with accompanying challenges in navigating mental health systems ( Lincoln et al, 2021 ). The Team, including The Massachusetts Department of Mental Health (MDMH) (one of the study partners), developed a three-part strategy to be implemented at interested study sites: (1) develop and conduct reading skills groups, (2) create a drop-in program to help clients fill out forms and read/organize (e)mail, a need specifically identified by study participants, and (3) assess the organizational health literacy demands of a mental health setting ( Lincoln et al, 2021 ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Study participants had lower rates of literacy than the general U.S. adult population, with accompanying challenges in navigating mental health systems ( Lincoln et al, 2021 ). The Team, including The Massachusetts Department of Mental Health (MDMH) (one of the study partners), developed a three-part strategy to be implemented at interested study sites: (1) develop and conduct reading skills groups, (2) create a drop-in program to help clients fill out forms and read/organize (e)mail, a need specifically identified by study participants, and (3) assess the organizational health literacy demands of a mental health setting ( Lincoln et al, 2021 ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Performing an Organizational Health Literacy Assessment in a Shelter Serving People with Mental Illness

Rosenfeld¹,

Miller²,

Garverich³

et al. 2022

HLRP: Health Literacy Research and Practice

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Health literacy research and practice are constantly evolving. Recent inquiry has highlighted the burdensome literacy demands faced by people with serious mental illness (SMI). Systems, organizational operations, and structures can play a role in decreasing literacy demand, thereby reducing unnecessary challenges for people with SMI. Brief Description of Activity: An organizational health literacy assessment was conducted to explore literacy demands in one mental health shelter and revealed best practice action steps for improving the literacy environment. Implementation: The assessment included an exploration of the shelter environment using The Health Literacy Environment Activity Packet, First Impressions & Walking Interview, and a commonly used shelter document using the Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG), Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAM), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Index. Results: The literacy demands of the shelter environment and a frequently used document exceeded the literacy skills of people with SMI. Environment assessment revealed environmental facilitators (e.g., welcoming atmosphere) and barriers (e.g., unclear signage). Document assessment also revealed facilitating factors and barriers. SMOG scores ranged from 11.25 to 11.80 (median: 11.38), meaning 11th to 12th grade-level reading skills are required to understand, use, and take action on the document's content. A SAM score of 50% (adequate) and a CDC Index score of 42.1 (revise and improve) reveal materials contain both facilitating factors (e.g., chunked sections) and barriers (e.g., jargon, mismatched graphics) to use. Lessons Learned: The mismatch between system demands and the literacy skills of people with SMI is more profound than that of the general United States population. Organizational health literacy assessments are achievable and useful for both immediate and long-term action aimed at understanding and improving the organizational health literacy of mental health spaces. Further work is needed to explore the role of behavioral health services in addressing the institutional and programmatic literacy demands that inhibit treatment and recovery. [ HLRP: Health Literacy Research and Practice . 2022;6(3):e167–e174. ] Plain Language Summary: An organizational health literacy assessment reveals how system demands can be changed to better serve intended users. Engaging in mental health, recovery, and treatment services requires complex literacy skills. Generally, the U.S. adult population does not have the skills to meet such demands, and this is especially true among public mental health service users.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Reflections From Shelter Leadership and Stakeholdersmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Performing an Organizational Health Literacy Assessment in a Shelter Serving People with Mental Illness

Rosenfeld¹,

Miller²,

Garverich³

et al. 2022

HLRP: Health Literacy Research and Practice

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Integrating a Social Determinants of Health Framework into Nursing Education

Hamilton

2023

Integrating a Social Determinants of Health Framework Into Nursing Education

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Literacy and mental health across the globe: a systematic review

Hunn

Teague

Fisher

2023

MHSI

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose The purpose of this systematic review is to assess if there is a relationship between literacy abilities and mental health outcomes as reported in global literature. Fourteen percent of the global population has little or no literacy. Literacy skills impact on daily functioning and have been shown to impact on social outcomes. Whilst there has been research examining the potential association between literacy and mental health outcomes in specific populations, there has been no systematic review of this literature to date. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review was carried out using Embase, PsycINFO and PubMed to identify relevant papers that measured both literacy and mental health. Data relating to the association between literacy and mental health were extracted. The papers included were assessed for quality using a bespoke quality rating tool. A narrative synthesis describes the findings. Findings Nineteen studies from across nine countries were included in the analysis. Seventeen studies showed a significant association between literacy and mental health, those with lower literacy had greater mental health difficulties. Some papers reported factors that interacted with this association, such as age, gender, poverty and years of education. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first systematic review to look at the global picture of literacy and mental health. It suggests there is a relationship between literacy abilities and mental health outcomes, highlighting the importance of healthcare professionals and services including identification of literacy needs within routine mental health practice.

show abstract

Prevalence and Predictors of Limited Literacy in Public Mental Health Care

Cited by 5 publications

References 30 publications

Performing an Organizational Health Literacy Assessment in a Shelter Serving People with Mental Illness

Performing an Organizational Health Literacy Assessment in a Shelter Serving People with Mental Illness

Integrating a Social Determinants of Health Framework into Nursing Education

Literacy and mental health across the globe: a systematic review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About