Closing the Misinformation Gap – How (Health) Literacy is a Structural Determinant of Health

Hosted December 2024

In this webinar, we spoke with Dr. Lisa Fitzpatrick, Founder, and CEO of Grapevine Health—a data-driven health media company dedicated to sharing trustworthy health information within communities— about the challenges that misinformation and complex and unclear language used in medical environments can create, along with solutions to build trusted lines of communication within communities and those who provide healthcare.

A public demonstration; people are leaning against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan offices, with picket signs. The one in the forefront is a young man wearing a wide brimmed hat holding a yellow sign with dark text that reads "Your greed makes me sick".

How (Health) Literacy is a Structural Determinant of Health

from Rx Foundation’s Power is a Social Determinant of Health series

Session description: Misinformation concerning our health and healthcare systems is rampant in communities, on social media, and even in government. Whether it’s confusion over whether the Affordable Care Act and Obamacare are the same or how vaccines work, it’s clear that health misinformation is a structural determinant that impacts our everyday behaviors, collective health and well-being, policy decisions, and even life outcomes. 

In this session, we explore:

– Health misinformation gap that Dr. Lisa sees in everyday conversations with people “On the Street”

– Why health literacy is often overlooked as a solution by healthcare and public health systems; and,

– What it would look like to prioritize health literacy at a systemic level, breaking endless cycles of misinformation and improving outcomes for underserved communities.

Dr. Lisa explains why it is time to stop treating health literacy as a peripheral issue and why professionals should begin prioritizing it as a vital determinant of health and well-being. This session shares new people-centered health communication strategies and practical interventions that can help lead to tangible improvements in awareness and health outcomes.

Watch the Recording

Session Highlights

Grapevine Health is a data-driven health media company that delivers trusted health information to people where they are. In “On the Street” sessions and through social media channels, Grapevine Health and its team of healthcare professionals create and deliver culturally appropriate health education content to help close care gaps for communities that are less well served by existing systems and approaches.
People need help navigating the care they need, including finding doctors, understanding insurance, and taking their medications safely. However, trust barriers start forming when complex medical terms and insurance language are used.
Health literacy costs $238 billion annually and has a direct correlation to poorer health outcomes, including a higher risk of death and more emergency room and hospital visits.
Headshot of Dr. Lisa Fitzpatrick with a quote from the RX Foundation power session, "We must be willing to embrace solutions that respond directly to community feedback even if it sounds foreign, risky and non-academic. People want relatable messaging. This builds trusts which can increase engagement and close care gaps.
Misinformation can sometimes be based out of a kernel of truth that has traveled from word of mouth and then morphed into click-bait. It is important for people to ask curious questions and properly research their sources of information.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is helping more people understand aspects of their healthcare, but it is not always accurate. Medical professionals must be “more of a helper” in helping people understand information.
Value-based care is only as good as the engaged person. Engagement starts with understanding health information and building trust so that people can ask questions without shame or embarrassment.
In order to combat health care misinformation, it will require vulnerability and trust from community leaders, medical professional and patients to engage in meaningful conversations.

Speakers

Erica Andrade, President/CEO of El Centro

Dr. Lisa Fitzpatrick

Dr. Lisa Fitzpatrick Founder & CEO Lisa Fitzpatrick, MD, MPH, MPA, is a board-certified infectious diseases physician and a medical epidemiologist. She began her public health career in 1998 as a member of the CDC’s elite Epidemic Intelligence Service. She has served as a foreign diplomat in the Caribbean, an academic researcher, and the former chief medical officer for the DC Medicaid program. Dr. Fitzpatrick is a member of the Institute of Medicine/ National Academy of Sciences Roundtable on Health Literacy and an Aspen Institute Health Innovator Fellow. She is the founder and CEO of Grapevine Health, a digital health media company she established to build trust and improve patient engagement among Medicaid patients through delivering culturally appropriate and relatable health information.

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