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DavisNational Academies of Medicine Health Literacy Roundtable Member Dr. Terry Davis, Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at CCTS Partner LSUHSC and the Feist-Weiller Cancer Center, Director of the LaCATS Health Literacy Core, and developer of the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM) tool,  visited the CCTS Hub on April 24, 2018, following her presentation at Surgery Grand Rounds. Davis was invited to speak by Assistant Professor, UAB Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery, and 2018 James A. Pittman, MD, Scholar Daniel I. Chu, MD, MPH, who presented his research on low health literacy and disparities in surgical outcomes at the February CCTS Monthly Forum.

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Davis’ talk, “Shining a Light on Health Literacy: What’s the Bottom Line for Surgeons?” addressed the link between inadequate surgeon/patient communication and surgical outcomes, including a higher rate of post-surgical complications, medication errors, and rehospitalizations. She offered evidence-based solutions to handle literacy challenges, focusing on critical communication stages such as informed consent and discharge. She emphasized that “everyone, no matter how well educated, is at risk for misunderstanding health information if the issue is complex or the event emotionally charged, such as with having surgery.”

Surgery Grand Rounds April2018 7Davis joined CCTS communications and outreach staff and health literacy research colleagues from the UAB School of Nursing to discuss shared goals and collaborative opportunities. She described a study she recently presented at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting that found the use of cutting-edge medical concepts (e.g., biobanking, genomics, clinical trials) are not commonly understood by safety-net patients, their providers, or minority groups. Her results highlight “widening gaps in communication and knowledge in the novel space where community providers, patients, and researchers interact.”       

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The discussion underscored Davis and CCTS share a common goal: to reduce barriers to enrollment for traditionally underrepresented groups (e.g., racial and ethnic minority groups, individuals with low socioeconomic status, and those who live in rural areas). “The lack of participation in research by key groups contributes to the health disparities that are prevalent in our two states (Alabama and Louisiana),” Davis said.

CCTS and Davis also share a strategic vision—to help investigators apply health literacy methodologies to their translational research and improve the communication and relationship-building skills needed to conduct research with underrepresented populations. CCTS looks forward to collaborating with Davis and her LaCATS colleagues on this and other low health literacy challenges.