Improving Health Literacy in Kidney Patients: Nephrology Social Workers as Leaders

Abstract

This article will discuss two research studies related to health literacy (HL) and nephrology: one conducted with dialysis patients at facilities in New York City on health information seeking behaviors, and one conducted with nephrology social workers on their use of health literacy knowledge, tools, and assessments. The results of both studies were presented at a roundtable event hosted by The Rogosin Institute in New York City to inform a discussion around improving health literacy of renal patients, their families, and care teams. The authors define health literacy, then discuss the methods and findings from both studies, and finally, drawing from both studies, make recommendations for nephrology social workers to improve health literacy among kidney disease patients and their care partners.