Health Literacy for Interprofessional Education (IPE) eToolkit

HRSA website is devoted to developing the clinical communication skills of healthcare providers in three areas: health literacy, cultural competency and linguistic competency.

The Area Health Education Center at Ohio State University College of Medicine offers this website with the following Health Literacy Resources:
• Developing Culturally Appropriate Medicare Education Materials
• Translating Material for Non-English Speaking Audiences
• Bridging the Cultural Divide in Health Care Settings, The Essential Role of Cultural Broker Program
• One Size Does Not Fit All: Meeting the Health Care Needs of Diverse Populations

From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, information on bridging health literacy needs within different cultures.

Written from a nursing perspective, this journal article explores how culture and language impact different aspects of health literacy. Case studies illustrate their points and a list of resources offer suggestions for overcoming these barriers to quality patient care.

EthnoMed contains information about cultural beliefs, medical issues and related topics pertinent to the health care of immigrants to Seattle or the US, many of whom are refugees fleeing war-torn parts of the world. It includes cultural profiles and culturally and linguistically appropriate patient education resources.

The purpose of DiversityRx is to improve the accessibility and quality of health care for minority, immigrant, and indigenous communities. It offers information on culturally competent care and culturally competent organizations among other relevant topics.

Cue Cards is a resource developed by Eastern Health Language Services of Australia to assist health professionals and clients / carers who have English language difficulties, or problems communicating with each other. The resource is not to be used in lieu of accredited interpreters, but can be used by clients/carers to communicate simple needs such as hunger, thirst, use of a telephone etc. and by healthcare professionals to indicate simple instructions/concepts. Cue Cards are free to download but you must share your name and email address to access them.

From the University of Washington Medical Center, Culture Clues™ are tip sheets for clinicians. They are designed to increase awareness about concepts and preferences of patients from different cultures. Geared toward patient populations treated at UWMC, these tips sheets may be helpful to clinicians in other geographic locations. The materials may be used and modified with copyright attribution to the University of Washington.