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Health Literacy in Tobacco Education: I Would Love to, Butt….
A major state grant to Florida’s AHECs for smoking cessation created
an opportunity for the AHEC at Florida State University College of
Medicine to create a tobacco cessation self-help brochure to provide
an educational opportunity on health literacy for three first year
medical students. Three medical students were selected for this
inaugural program: Kendall Riley, Tiffany Vollmer, and Stacia Kutter
and Tatiana Fernandez, a graduate student in integrated marketing
communications joined the group. The final product for the summer
was a self-help guide for smokers who want to quit designed for an
audience with low health literacy skills.
Over the course of 8 weeks the students reviewed literature relating
to literacy and health literacy, using a template to extract
pertinent information from each article. At weekly meetings the
students learned about tobacco cessation and motivational
interviewing. As a group they discussed the articles they had read
and the implications for a self-help tool. About half-way through
the program, the students began the process of developing the tool;
putting into practice what they had learned about smoking cessation
and messaging for low literacy audiences. With two weeks left in the
program, they traveled to a rural community 1.5 hours west of
Tallahassee, where they observed a smoking cessation program and
then asked the participants to examine and give them feedback on the
brochure. They also solicited feedback during visits to a domestic
violence shelter with a family medicine faculty member and a
homeless shelter. In total they met and spoke with 25-30 people.
Based on what they learned the students revised their product, “Stop
Smoking for Good”, more than 6 times. The brochure and a pocket card
describing personal reasons for quitting is available to providers
across the state. The brochure advises smokers who are trying to
quit to keep your “WITS” about you: When you feel a craving W-wait
it will pass within 2 minutes; I-inhale, take some deep breaths
while you’re waiting; T-try other things, brush your teeth, go for a
walk, call a friend; and S-sip, take a sip of water through a straw.
Riley, Vollmer, and Kutter will be returning to their formal studies
in August, but their product will join the arsenal of tools primary
care providers can use to help all of their patients regardless of
their literacy to “Stop Smoking for Good.”
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