More than 200 health care professionals attended the the 9th Annual Health Literacy Conference in San Antonio Friday, where Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said the community benefits as a whole if clients in all demographics better understand how to take care of their health.
Conference chair Jennifer Cook said much of the issue is about feedback, but with implementation of the Affordable Care Act, everyone benefits if health care workers make sure the underserved understand what’s available to them.
“If you’re covered by insurance, then our cost to deliver and tend to your healthcare needs is controlled and we’re not going to be seeing tax increases,” Cook said.
Anthonia Ojo, who does outreach in underserved communities for the UT Health Science Center, said they learned about new resources and new ideas for making sure healthcare information is understood once it’s delivered.
“Designing websites, designing our own brochures, and even as we start to incorporate social media and we’re limited to so many characters and you’re limited to graphics and things like that. We also want to use this conference and use the information we get to optimize our ability to utilize all our resources on all platforms," Ojo said.
The Health Literacy Conference also helps health care professionals learn to communicate better with residents who lack citizenship, who often are overwhelmed with information and a system that keeps them on the edges of access to health care services.
