Last September 10th The New Readers of Iowa held a health literacy
conference and at this conference the participants had the option to
take part in the health screenings that were offered. There were 85
people at the conference and 23 took part in the screenings. This is a
small group of people, but hopefully this data will go beyond this
report in some useful way like raising awareness or getting more people
screened and treated. It is important to help raise awareness about some
special needs that may exist in adult learners or people who have
difficulty reading. It is my hope that the health field and the literacy
field will take a look at this report and we all will find ways to work
together to improve literacy and health literacy.

The red flags are:

* Depression
* Taking medicines incorrectly
* Weight control
* Blood pressure control and risks of heart disease and stroke

Archie Willard

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The data from these screenings follows:

New Readers of Iowa Pfizer, Inc.
Iowa Health Des Moines
Methodist - Lutheran - Blank
Health Screening
September 10, 2005
Nancy Bell, PharmD, Clinical Education Consultant, Pfizer
Frank Burns, Regional Account Manager, Pfizer

Summary of Health Screenings:
Pfizer, Iowa Health System and some Drake students held a health
screening at the New Readers of Iowa Conference on September 10, 2005.
Many health problems and conditions were covered by the screenings. The
questions asked were very reliable to help detect disease and are used a
lot by doctors. A total of 23 people went through the health screenings,
15 female and 8 male. The average age of people was 53 years.

Body Mass Index (height and weight measures):
Height and weight were noted. These were used to figure Body Mass Index
(BMI). People who have a BMI over 24 are considered too heavy or
overweight. 70% of the people screened were overweight. People who have
a BMI over 29 are considered grossly overweight or obese. 57% of people
were obese. This is very close to what we are seeing all over Iowa and
has become a serious health concern. Being overweight or obese can lead
to many health issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart
problems, aching joints or arthritis and many other problems.

Blood Pressure:
Blood pressures were taken for all people. Nearly 40% did not have blood
pressure in the normal range and should go to a doctor to talk about
this and have further tests. This rate is pretty high for us to see at a
health fair.

Adherence (Taking medicine right):
Anyone who was taking any kind of medicine was asked questions about how
they take their medicine and mainly if they remember to all the time.
Over half of the people (12 of 19) had trouble remembering to take their
medicine and were told to talk to their doctor about better ways to
remember. We find that it is really hard for people to remember all the
time and this is pretty common.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (Lung problems from smoking):
7 people said that they had smoked some time in their life and were
asked questions about lung problems. 6 people were asked to talk to
their doctor about this after answering the questions. Lung problems are
very common after people smoke awhile and once the problems start
happening, they can not be reversed or cured. Smoking also can cause
lots of other health problems and make you more likely to have a heart
attack or stroke. We encouraged anyone who still smokes to quit.

Migraine (Bad headaches):
9 people wanted to learn about headaches and answered questions on this.
6 people were told to talk to their doctor about headaches after
answering our questions. Migraine headaches are pretty common and often
people don’t know what they are or that they can get help.

Overactive Bladder (Having to go to the bathroom a lot or wetting):
8 patients wanted to be screened for this condition. 7 people were told
to see their doctor after answering the screening questions. This is
common and many people just live with the problems and don’t want to
tell anyone. Many people do not know there is help for this kind of
problem.

Osteoporosis (Weak bones):
Only 4 people of 7 were told to talk to their doctors about maybe having
weak bones.

Depression:
8 people asked about being depressed and wanted to take the screening. 7
patients were told to talk to their doctor about depression. The people
that were screened had very high scores, meaning that depression was
very likely. Depression is found in about 10% of the people in the US.
At least 7 out of 23 people we screened may have some depression – this
is 30%. This is very high and might be an area to talk about with new
readers and people who have trouble reading.

Some areas you might want to do education on based on these results:

* Weight control
* Taking medicines correctly
* Depression
* Blood pressure control and risks of heart disease and stroke

-- 
Archie Willard
URL - http://www.readiowa.org/archiew.html