title: Assessing health literacy in safety net primary care practices.
abstract: Health literacy is now recognized as a crucial element of patient safety. Measuring health literacy in busy primary care practices can be challenging. This article presents findings from a study in which a relatively recent tool, the Newest Vital Sign (NVS) was used in seven safety net primary care practices, five of which were nurse managed health centers. The NVS is a promising tool that could be used extensively in most primary care practices. Providers and staff felt the use of the NVS would be beneficial in identifying low health literacy patients. This study supported previous research on low health literacy as well as the predictors of health literacy. The study also confirmed the NVS as a tool that is efficient to administer while maintaining work flow.
authors: University of Detroit Mercy, McAuley School of Nursing, 4001W. McNichols Road, Detroit, MI, 48221, USA. Electronic address: mccunere@udmercy.edu.
authors: Renée L
authors: RL
authors: McCune
authors: University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV, USA. Electronic address: hyunhwa.lee@unlv.edu.
authors: Hyunhwa
authors: H
authors: Lee
authors: The University of Michigan School of Nursing, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. Electronic address: jpohl@umich.edu.
authors: Joanne M
authors: JM
authors: Pohl
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D057220:Health Literacy / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods; D064876:Safety-net Providers; D055986:Vital Signs
keywords: Health literacy; Newest Vital Sign; Nurse managed health centers; Primary care