AORN Journal
Volume 88, Issue 1 , Pages 23-29 , July 2008

Using Principles of Health Literacy to Enhance the Informed Consent Process

  • Bonne Lorenzen, RN, MSN

      Affiliations

    • Bonne Lorenzen, RN, MSN, is a staff development coordinator at Trinity Regional Health System, Rock Island, IL.
  • ,
  • Constance E. Melby, RN, MS, CNOR

      Affiliations

    • Constance E. Melby, RN, MS, CNOR, is an OR clinical educator at Trinity Regional Health System, Rock Island, IL.
  • ,
  • Barb Earles, RN, MHA, CPHRM

      Affiliations

    • Barb Earles, RN, MHA, CPHRM, is the director of risk management at Iowa Health System, Des Moines, IA.

References 

  1. Institute of Medicine of the National Academies  . In: Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion . Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2004;p. 32
  2. Health literacy; highlights of findings. IES National Center of Education Statistics . http://nces.ed.gov/naal/health_results.asp#overall Accessed May 6, 2008.
  3. Osborne H . In: Health Literacy from A to Z: Practical Ways to Communicate Your Health Message . Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc; 2005;p. 8
  4. Koransky I. Informed consent for patients with limited health literacy: moving from the conceptual to the actual. Paper presented at: The Foundation for Patient Safety, Empowerment, and Quality Health Care: Reading, Writing, and Arrhythmias; June 2006; Rosemont, IL.
  5. Testing for readability . In: Scientific and Technical Information: Simply Put . 2nd ed.. Atlanta, GA: Office of Communication, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 1999;p. 23–28 http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/simpput.pdf Accessed May 6, 2008.
  6. RI.2.40 . In: Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals: The Official Handbook . Oakbrook Terrace, IL: JCR Publications; 2007;p. RI-2
  7. PC.6.30 . In: Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals: The Official Handbook . Oakbrook Terrace, IL: JCR Publications; 2007;p. PC-4
  8. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Condition of participation: patients' rights. 42 CFR §482.13(b)(2). http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2002/octqtr/pdf/42cfr482.13.pdf. Accessed May 14, 2008.
  9. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, HHS. Condition of participation: medical record services. 42 CFR §482.24(c)(2)(v). http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2002/octqtr/pdf/42cfr482.24.pdf. Accessed May 14, 2008.
  10. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, HHS. Condition of participation: surgical services. 42 CFR §482.51(b)(2). http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2002/octqtr/pdf/42cfr482.51.pdf. Accessed May 14, 2008.
  11. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Revisions to the hospital interpretive guidelines for informed consent. Tag A-0049, Attachment 1 [Memorandum]. http://www.cms.hhs.gov/SurveyCertificationGenInfo/downloads/SCLetter07-17.pdf. April 13, 2007. Accessed May 14, 2008.
  12. Informed consent. American Medical Association, Office of the General Counsel . http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/4608.html Accessed May 8, 2008.
  13. 2005 White House Conference on Aging, Mini-Conference on Health Literacy and Health Disparities; July 2005; Chicago, IL. http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/433/mini_conf.pdf. Accessed May 8, 2008.
  14. Academy for Educational Development  . Health Literacy—A Prescription to End Confusion [videotape] . Washington, DC: National Academies and Institute of Medicine; 2004;
  15. Health literacy: a prescription to end confusion. Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10883#toc. April 8, 2004. Accessed May 8, 2008.
  16. Paasche-Orlow MK . The challenges of informed consent for low-literate populations . In:  Schwartzberg J ,  VanGeest J ,  Wang C editor. Understanding Health Literacy: Implications for Medicine and Public Health . Chicago, IL: American Medical Association Press; 2005;p. 126
  17. Scott County QuickFacts. US Census Bureau . http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/19/19163.html January 7, 2008; Accessed on May 8, 2008.
  18. Rock Island County QuickFacts. US Census Bureau . http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/17/17161.html January 2, 2008; Accessed May 8, 2008.

 Editor's note: The Universal Protocol is a registered trademark of the Joint Commission, Oakbrook Terrace, IL.For more information on health literacy, visit the National Network of Libraries of Medicine web site at http://nnlm.gov/outreach/consumer/hlthlit.html.

PII: S0001-2092(08)00186-5

doi: 10.1016/j.aorn.2008.03.001

AORN Journal
Volume 88, Issue 1 , Pages 23-29 , July 2008