Oct. 23, 2009 - The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has published new survey questions that offer further insights into how well health care professionals are communicating health information to their patients. The CAHPS Item Set for Addressing Health Literacy consists of 29 supplemental items designed for use with the CAHPS Clinician & Group Survey. (The Spanish version of the item set has an additional item about the availability of forms in Spanish.)
The CAHPS Item Set for Addressing Health Literacy was developed to provide health care providers with data that could help them improve their health literacy practices. The survey can be used to:
1. Identify specific topic areas for quality improvement (e.g., communication about test results, medications, and forms).
2. Recognize particular behaviors that inhibit effective communication (e.g., talking too fast, using medical jargon).
3. Assist in designing a safer, shame-free environment where patients feel comfortable discussing their health care concerns (e.g., showing interest in questions, explaining forms).
4. Measure the effect of behaviors that promote effective communication (e.g., confirming understanding through teach-back, using visual aids).
AHRQ, in collaboration with the American Medical Association (AMA), has also developed a Health Literacy Quality Improvement Crosswalk that maps each item to one or more health literacy practices recommended by AMA.
Learn more about the CAHPS Item Set for Address Health Literacy at: https://www.cahps.ahrq.gov/content/products/HL/PROD_HL_Intro.asp?p=1021&s=215.
To view and use these supplemental items, go to https://www.cahps.ahrq.gov/cahpskit/CG/CGChooseQX.asp, select the four-point or six point scale version of the survey, and then select the Adult Primary Care Questionnaire.
To view "About the CAHPS Item Set for Addressing Health Literacy," which contains the Health Literacy Quality Improvement Crosswalk and other information about the item set, go to https://www.cahps.ahrq.gov/CAHPSkit/files/1311_About_Health_Lit.pdf
Source: AHRQ