Laurie Martin, ScD MPH is a policy researcher with the RAND Corporation. Her interests focus on understanding the role of health literacy from both an individual and community perspective. Among her many accomplishments, Dr. Martin and colleagues developed an interactive mapping tool that identifies health literacy “hot spots” — geographic areas of suboptimal health or healthcare that may be due to low health literacy.

A prototype is being used in Missouri. The goal is to expand nationwide, providing tools that researchers and practitioners can use to target health literacy interventions in ways that are efficient and cost-effective. In this podcast, Dr. Martin talks with Helen Osborne about:

• Health literacy from a population perspective. How this differs from an individual perspective.
• Using a predictive model to estimate and map community-level health literacy.
• Lessons learned to apply on a population level, individual level, and community level.

More ways to learn:

• To learn more about mapping health literacy, contact Laurie Martin directly at Laurie_Martin@rand.org
• A Prototype Interactive Mapping Tool to Target Low Health Literacy in Missouri available at: http://www.rand.org/health/projects/missouri-health-literacy/
• Laurie N, Martin LT, et al.  (2010) Estimating and Mapping Health Literacy in the State of Missouri available at: http://www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/WR735/
• Martin et al. (2009) Developing Predictive Models of Health Literacy. Journal of General Internal Medicine, Vol. 24, No. 11, 2009
• National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy. Available at http://www.health.gov/communication/HLActionPlan/
• Health Literacy Out Loud Podcast #39 “National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy,” an audio interview with Dr. Cynthia Baur. Available at http://www.healthliteracyoutloud.com/2010/06/08/hlol-39-national-action-plan-to-improve-health-literacy/
• Health Literacy Out Loud Podcast #30, “Making a Business Case to Move Health Literacy Forward,” an audio interview with David Walsh. Available at http://www.healthliteracyoutloud.com/2010/01/05/hlol-30-making-a%C2%A0business-case-to-move%C2%A0health-literacy%C2%A0forward/

John Comings EdD is Principal International Technical Advisor at the Education Development Center in Newton, MA. Prior to this, he was Director of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) and a member of the faculty of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Dr. Comings’s research and writing focuses on the impact of adult literacy programs and factors that predict persistence of adult education students in the U.S. and Third World countries. In this podcast, he talks with Helen Osborne about:

• The literacy part of health literacy, including components of reading skills
• The health part of health literacy, including functional skills within health contexts
• Practical literacy strategies that health professionals can use today
• Ways the health system can collaborate with the adult literacy system

More Ways to Learn:

• You can reach John Comings directly by email at john.comings@gmail.com
• U.S. Federal government’s Division of Adult Education and Literacy: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/index.html
• To locate the state office of adult education: http://www.naepdc.org/Members/members_home.html
• In Canada, National Adult Literacy Database: www.nald.ca
• National Assessment of Adult Literacy: http://nces.ed.gov/naal/
• NCSALL’s research: www.ncsall.net
• National Institute for Literacy www.nifl.gov