Adults age 65 and older make up the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population. At the same time, the complexity of health care delivery continues to grow, creating challenges that are magnified for older adults, given that age is one of the highest correlates of low health literacy. This creates a shared obligation between health care and the health care team to use the principles, tools, and practices of health literacy so that patients and families of older adults can more easily navigate discussions related to chronic disease, polypharmacy, long-term care, palliative care, insurance complexities, the social determinants of health, and other factors that create challenges for older adults, particularly among underserved populations nationwide.

To gain a better understanding of the health communication challenges among older adults and their professional and family caregivers and how those challenges affect the care older adults receive, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Roundtable on Health Literacy convened a 1-day public workshop featuring presentations and discussions that examined the effect of low health literacy on the health of older adults. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Contents

• The National Academies of SCIENCES • ENGINEERING • MEDICINE
• PLANNING COMMITTEE ON HEALTH LITERACY AND OLDER ADULTS: RESHAPING THE LANDSCAPE
• ROUNDTABLE ON HEALTH LITERACY
• Reviewers
• Acknowledgments
• Acronyms and Abbreviations
• 1. Introduction
  • ORGANIZATION OF THE PROCEEDINGS
• 2. The Personal Landscape
  • A PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE
  • WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT HEALTH LITERACY AND OLDER ADULTS?
  • DISCUSSION
• 3. The Family and Community Landscape
  • GIVING VOICE TO OLDER ADULTS AND CAREGIVERS: DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS AND DECISIONS
  • HEALTH LITERACY AS A TOOL TO EASE DISPARITIES AMONG VULNERABLE OLDER ADULTS
  • COMMUNITY LIVING, FOSTERING ENGAGEMENT, AND INDEPENDENCE
  • DISCUSSION
• 4. The Health System Landscape
  • NAVIGATING LONG-TERM SERVICES AND SUPPORTS
  • TECHNOLOGY AS A FACILITATOR OR BARRIER FOR OLDER ADULTS
  • DISCUSSION
• 5. Reflecting on the Day's Presentations
  • MODERATED PANEL DISCUSSION
  • OPEN DISCUSSION
  • REFLECTIONS FROM THE ROUNDTABLE
• References
• APPENDIXES
  • Appendix A. Workshop Agenda
  • Appendix B. Biographical Sketches of Workshop Moderators, Speakers, and Panelists

Rapporteur: Joe Alper.

Suggested citation:

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Health literacy and older adults: Reshaping the landscape: Proceedings of a workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.17226/25188.