News
UCC Digital Badge: “An Introduction to Health Literacy for Health and Social Care Professionals”
The School of Pharmacy, UCC are delighted to launch a new Digital Badge, “An Introduction to Health Literacy for Health and Social Care Professionals” which is now open for registration.
The School of Pharmacy, UCC are delighted to launch a new Digital Badge, “An Introduction to Health Literacy for Health and Social Care Professionals”.
The course, designed and delivered by Prof Laura J Sahm and Dr Michelle O’Driscoll at the School of Pharmacy UCC in collaboration with the National Adult Literacy Agency, will run again in September 2024. Please email michelle.odriscoll@ucc.ie for further information.
Prof. Laura J. Sahm says “As a healthcare professional I am passionate about our role in helping patients and their caregivers to have easy to understand information about their health and wellbeing. Medicines are a big part of preventing, managing and treating illnesses and if we can make the information available about medicines easier to access and understand, this will be an important first step.”
Colleen Dube, CEO of the National Adult Literacy Agency says “We are delighted to be partnering with UCC on this innovation in professional development. Pharmacists play a critical role in dispensing medicines and information to patients. We hope that professionals that enroll on the digital badge will get invaluable insights and ideas that they can put into practice in their interactions with patient.”
What is health literacy?
Health literacy (HL) is the degree to which individuals have the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health‐related decisions and actions. Low HL levels predispose to poor medication adherence and health outcomes. Awareness and knowledge of HL amongst healthcare professionals can lead to tailored interventions for improved HL and patient outcomes.
Who is the course open to?
This Digital Badge is open to all health and social care professionals, or students of such professions, who are currently or will in the future engage with patients experiencing health literacy challenges, and who wish to optimise their care.
What does the course involve?
The course runs online over ten weeks, comprising of weekly bite-sized recordings and short online discussions and activities, with some associated readings provided. Content is released weekly, and can be completed at a time that suits the student.
Embedded into the course are contributions from the National Adult Literacy Agency, including a live in-person, interactive 90-minute workshop.
Two optional online support sessions will be scheduled during the course to facilitate queries, and to meet colleagues.
There is also an opportunity to inform the feasibility and accessibility of future iterations of the course, should you so wish.
How do I obtain the digital badge?
The digital badge will be awarded to those who have completed the prescribed learning activities and submitted an e-portfolio and assignment at the end of the course.
What topics are covered?
The course will explore the following topics:
- What is health literacy?
- The impact of health literacy on patient outcomes
- Written, verbal and digital approaches to improving health literacy
- A specific focus on the cardiology patient, and the impact of health literacy on their care and outcomes
- Putting your health literacy learnings into practice
UCC staff and external participants - please complete the registration form at this link.
UCC students - please complete the registration form at this link.