Panelists to Address Health Literacy

02/17/2011 

What constitutes “health literacy” and how it affects people’s health status and health behaviors will be discussed during a Community Roundtable on Thursday, March 3, at SUNY Cortland.                    

Three women, each involved in health education, will discuss exactly what it means to be a health literate person in the 21st century from 8-9 a.m. in the Park Center Hall of Fame Room. Refreshments will be served at 7:45 a.m. A question and answer period will follow.

The three speakers will contribute their ideas on how schools, community agencies and health care institutions need to work together to build a “health literate” population.

Sponsored by the President’s Office and the College’s Center for Educational Exchange (CEE), the Community Roundtable is free and open to the public.

Speakers will include Bonni Hodges, professor and chair of health at SUNY Cortland, Christella Yonta, project coordinator of Seven Valleys Health Coalition and Donna M. Videto, health professor at SUNY Cortland.

The Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) defines health literacy as the ability to read, understand and act on health care information.

 According to the Partnership for Clear Health Communication, health literacy is one of the least recognized yet most widespread challenges to achieving better health outcomes and lowering health costs in the U.S.

The panel will address the social and economic consequences of low health literacy levels for individuals and communities.

The Community Roundtable series provides programs on diverse intellectual, regional and cultural topics of interest to College faculty and staff and community members. Each roundtable is held on the first Thursday of the month. Parking in the Park Center lot is open to the public during the roundtables.

For more information contact the CEE at (607) 753-4214 or visit www2.cortland.edu/centers/cee/community-roundtables/.