): In a recent study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, 47% of the U.S. adult population (90 million adults) were found to demonstrate low levels of literacy. Physicians who interact with adults with limited literacy skills need to be aware of this communication barrier in order to effectively communicate diagnosis and treatment plans in a manner which will assure patient understanding. The proposed project entitled Improving Medical Student Communication with Low Literate Adults is designed to teach medical students how to effectively communicate with populations with limited literacy skills regarding breast cancer screening. The project is a collaborative effort between the AMC Cancer Research Center and the University of Colorado School of Medicine's Primary Care Program.
The specific aims of the project are to: 1) develop an innovative and unique learning module for medical students on communicating with limited literacy populations about breast cancer screening; 2) implement the program with third year medical students at the University of Colorado through the required Primary Care III class; 3) evaluate the Program using process and outcome measures assessing knowledge attitude and behavior changes. The program will incorporate learning activities related to communicating with low literate patients about early detection of breast cancer through the development of a learning module which will contain a self-paced learning and resource guide and a case presentation featuring a patient with limited literacy skills needing breast cancer screening. The theoretical approach used in the design of the module is one of problem-based learning. The input obtained by/from practicing physicians and individuals with limited literacy skills in the development of the module will provide medical students, physicians, medical school instructors and researchers with valuable insight into how to more effectively communicate with limited literacy patients.
| Plomer, K; Schneider, L; Barley, G et al. (2001) Improving medical students' communication with limited-literacy patients: project development and implementation. J Cancer Educ 16:68-71 |
