Empower Parents will equip parent caregivers with much needed health literacy tools and skills. Parents with 86 suffering from disease, illness or disability are often not informed with credible health information placing their 86 at risk. As the caregivers to child patients, parents are tasked with the job of becoming an expert on the health needs of their 86 but yet not given appropriate tools or resources. Often parents face multiple adversities such as low socioeconomic status, low literacy, English as their second language and/or have little knowledge of healthcare in general. The Consumer Health Librarian would become a source of information and education for these parent caregivers. This would begin with classes designed and presented for parent caregivers in person and via webinars. The classes would be offered within the community in places such as YMCAs, community organizations, public libraries and 86's hospitals throughout the community. Resources would be ordered and given to parent caregivers in their native languages and at lower reading levels enabling better understanding or comprehension. Videos and podcasts would also be created for parents to view and listen to. Scientific research shows that 50% of what is taken into the human brain comes only when a person hears and sees information at once. This would be the overall goal when sharing information with parent caregivers. The Consumer Health Librarian would be available for consultations through in person appointments, email, phone calls and also virtual consults using Skype and Facetime. When parent caregiver understand their child's health needs and appropriate care, child patients will have better overall health outcomes and quality of life. There will be fewer readmits to the hospital for these 86 within 30 days and less unneeded visits to the Emergency Department.
Project Details
Orlando Health
Jessica Daly