UICC World Cancer Congress 2006

Objective:Cancer treatment and survivorship take a tremendous toll on patients and families. The burden increases when faced with complex informational and educational material. A recent Institute of Medicine report on literacy indicates that 90 million Americans have low health literacy. Statistics from the recent National Adult Literacy Survey further corroborate that low literacy is far more common than expected. Additionally, the changing demography of the US means more patients with culturally and linguistically diverse needs.

Methods:In this session, the primary focus will be on principles of cultural competence – relevance, appropriateness, sensitivity and acceptability, and the process of developing culturally appropriate and low literacy materials. Additionally, literacy tests such as the REALM, and the FRY will be explained and hints to adapt existing material will be presented.

Results:Existing cancer related educational material will be reviewed for cultural competency and literacy. Methods to incorporate culture appropriateness and literacy into educational material developed for different media (print, computer-based) will be addressed.