EMPOWER PATIENTS OWN THEIR CARE

Health Literacy Training

By addressing the widespread challenge of communication and engagement gaps, Health Literacy training empowers providers with practical skills to ensure patients truly understand, engage in, and take control of their own care decisions.

Jump to a Health Literacy training option

Health Literacy Overview Webinar

 60 minutes

Appropriate for wide range of professionals and peer helpers.

This overview provides training in the concept of health literacy and an introduction to teach-back for understanding.

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Health Literacy Workshop or Webinar Package for Front-Line Clinicians

  half-day (4 hrs)

  Appropriate for front-line clinicians

This workshop provides training in fundamental concepts from the health literacy universal precautions and teaches core communication skills including how to use resources, plain language, teach-back, and ask-offer-ask.

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Health Literacy Workshop or Webinar Package for Clinical Educators and Health Literacy Leads

  One-day (8 hours) workshop or 3 x 3-hour webinars

  Appropriate for clinical educators and health literacy leads

This workshop provides training in fundamental concepts from the health literacy universal precautions and includes content on plain language and design (PEMAT), health literacy and medication adherence. 

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Health Literacy Trainer Course

  Two days (16 hours)

  Appropriate for clinical educators

This train the trainer workshop will prepare educators to deliver the Health Literacy Overview and the half-day Workshop for Front-Line Clinicians.

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What Learners Are Saying

Easier conversations

It was great to learn how to make conversation easier for patients, and how to approach it

Provincial Health Services Authority

Informative

The Instructor delivered some really impactful examples through group activities. It was very informative of the patient experience in health care.

Radiation Therapy Clinical Educator

Widely Applicable

The points outlined can be implemented by anyone who provides info or care to patients

Community Resource Connector

Client Perspective

I appreciate the course structure, including practice activities, and the powerful videos you have shared!! They definitely left an impression by showing the client perspectives that we don’t always think about.

Dietitian

Human Connection

This content is very applicable to our work and how we connect with humans.

Vancouver Coastal Health Authority

Practical Insight

excellent content, practical and useful, lots of great examples to illustrate their points, lots of good resources

Nurse

Resources

Teach Back Guide

Teach Back is an evidence-based technique to confirm that a message has been understood. It has been shown to help people improve blood sugar control and avoid readmission in heart failure, and to decrease time for people taking a blood-thinning medication to get the medication dose right. Download our Teach Back Guide.

Videos

Teach-Back for Understanding

In this video Connie Davis explains how to use teach-back, a method to check that information has been communicated clearly. To download the handout, visit the handouts section on this page.

Health Literacy Umbrella

CCMI worked with health care teams in BC to develop this video, describing the "Health Literacy Umbrella":

Worksheets

Health and Wellness Advertising Claims Assessment Worksheet

One of the practical tools that we have partnered to develop is a worksheet for assessing health and wellness advertisements.

Click here to download: Health and Wellness Advertising Claims: So, Is it Truthful?

This tool was developed collaboratively with input from the public and professionals. We thank everyone who reviewed drafts and provided valuable feedback, including:

  • Plain Language Group of the South Riverdale Community Health Centre, Toronto, ON

The working group provided oversight and leadership:

  • Bernie Garrett, Associate Professor, UBC School of Nursing, Vancouver, BC
  • Elsie Petch, MHSc, Health Literacy Consultant, Toronto, ON
  • Lea Elcombe, Facilitator of the Plain Language Group of the South Riverdale Community Health Centre, Toronto, ON
  • Alifa Khan, Patient Advocate, Orangeville, ON
  • Denielle Wiebe, Graphic Designer, CCMI, Quesnel, BC
  • Connie Davis, Development Project Lead, CCMI, Hope BC

 

BRAIN Decision Making Worksheet

One of the practical tools that we have developed is the BRAIN Decision Making Worksheet, adapted with permission from the International Childbirth Association.

Download the Brain Decision Making Worksheet here:
BRAIN Decision Making Worksheet (General)