Ways People Who Have Literacy Problems Can Help Improve Health Literacy For All

By Archie Willard
Eagle Grove, Iowa

It is October and time to talk about health literacy. I look back to the year 2000 when I started to think about health literacy. I had been working in the adult literacy field for many years. As a dyslexic, I always struggled when I went to the Mayo Clinic to have my check-up. The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota is a big and confusing place. As an adult leaner it would be better if I had a better understanding of the place and my health in general.

A few years later I brought it up to the New Readers of Iowa -- a group of people who have gone through an adult reading program and have struggled with their reading. We started to work on health literacy and have put on health literacy conferences. The New Readers of Iowa have not started a health literacy movement. Health literacy has been around for sometime now, but what we have done is shown the health fields a real face and that is important. The New Readers of Iowa have gone to health meetings, conferences and many places where health literacy is talked about and have contributed to the meetings. What we bring is a different prospective that no one else can.

As the years have passed I have gotten to know and work with many people from this field. I can say that I'm proud to know all of you. I see many new people becoming interested in health literacy and you have brought new and fresh ideas to this field. If I had the power I would take every one of you to a New Readers of Iowa meeting or conference so you could know us and become one of us. Then I feel the solutions to health literacy would be different. There is a reason we all are in health literacy. It's all about how we communicate and work together. I thank you for caring.

Last I would like to ask you to think about how you can involve people who have literacy problems in your health literacy work. If you can do this you will never know how much you have done for them when you gave them the opportunity to give back to others.

Have a nice day,
Archie Willard

Archie Willard is an Adult Learner and Health Literacy Advocate. You can learn more by going to http://www.readiowa.org/archiew.html

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