Last month, the Health Consumers Centre co-delivered health literacy training in partnership with lived experience expert, Jess Edwards. The training was delivered to people living with chronic health conditions and disabilities that participated through MOIRA Connect. The training focused on practical ways people living with chronic health conditions and disabilities can increase their confidence in health literacy, and stay informed, engaged, and involved in their healthcare decision-making.
Individual health literacy means having the skills, knowledge, motivation and ability to find, understand, judge and use health information to make good decisions about health and healthcare, and to take the right action.
Training highlights and key takeaways
The training covered important topics relating to health literacy, such as:
- Considerations for trusting online health information including Artificial Intelligence sources
- Our right to accessing information in ways that we understand guided by the Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights
- Tips on preparing and engaging actively in health appointments, such as using the CheckBack method.
During the training session, attendees discussed and shared some concerns or barriers they face when seeking support for their health. This included:
- Remembering information after appointments
- Fear of offending a health practitioner if they went to another provider or declined advice about tests or medications
- Feeling ignored by health practitioners, with one person sharing an experience of not being looked at during an appointment.
Attendees also shared valuable feedback, highlighting several key takeaways. They reported feeling inspired, and noted that they had learned to:
- Trust their instincts
- Be cautious and critical of Artificial Intelligence when accessing health information
- Look for resources that had been developed with people who have lived experience
- Make a list of questions prior to going to an appointment.
The collaboration process
We spoke to Jess and our Consultant – Learning & Engagement, Katherine Burnard, about the process of working together to design and deliver this webinar.
Presented below are Jess’s reflections on the training and collaboration process
Why do you think Health literacy is important?
“It really empowers individuals to be able to more effectively navigate, understand and seek support and help. It helps individuals and organisations understand healthcare rights and responsibilities and the role that we all play in healthcare and in making healthcare accessible, inclusive, and equitable.”
Jess further stressed the importance of creating a health literacy environment. This includes the systems, policies, processes, materials, people and relationships in healthcare that affect how easily someone can find, understand, judge and use health information and services.
“Organisations and society also have a role in addition to the individual. We need both (complementing each other) to make change.”
How would you describe your experience collaborating with the Health Consumers Centre to deliver this training?
“It was really nice to see genuine co-design and co-production in action. I felt my insights and expertise were listened to and respected and given weight. It was a joint effort – great to share experiences and learn from each other and build off each other’s strengths.”
What do you hope is the takeaway message for participants attending the training?
“People have an active role to play in their health journey. By understanding health literacy and healthcare rights and playing an active role in your healthcare journey – you are likely to have better outcomes.”
“Having health literacy is a skill. If the training helps people feel empowered to be an active participant in their health journey – that is a bonus.”
Do you have any advice for organisations or practitioners who want to co-facilitate sessions with lived experience experts?
“Listen! and really hear what those lived experience experts are sharing. Recognise that lived experience expertise is a discipline, it is a profession in its own right. These experiences that people are sharing hold weight and value and should be respected just like any other professional expertise.”
What Katherine had to say about her experience working with Jess to develop and deliver the training.
How did partnering with Jess on this webinar impact the quality of the training?
“Working with Jess on developing and facilitating this training was fantastic. I came to our first meeting with some ideas for the training content and flow, but Jess picked up so many opportunities for improvement. The training that we ended up with far exceeded what I could have created on my own.”
What was it like to work collaboratively in designing the session?
“I really valued our planning meetings. As we got to know each other, we shared personal experiences that shaped the training. Those conversations led us to some golden real-life examples relating to health literacy that brought the sessions to life.”
Do you have any words of encouragement to others thinking about partnering with people who bring lived experience expertise?
“I know resource limitations exist. You don’t need to boil the ocean to collaborate meaningfully with people with lived experience. A small, intentional investment in one person’s expertise, like this piece of work, can be just as powerful as a big, resource-intensive process.”
At the Health Consumers Centre, we strive to champion lived experience leadership. We provide similar training on various health matters in partnership with lived experience experts. If you would like to collaborate with us for similar training opportunities, please reach out to us at healthconsumers@deakin.edu.au.
