More than 100 people participated recently in a health literacy workshop sponsored by the School of Health Sciences and Workforce Development & Continuing Education at Pennsylvania College of Technology.
The Oct. 3 workshop "Health Literacy: What It Is, Why It Matters, How You Can Help" was made possible by funding from the Lycoming County Health Improvement Coalition, via a Pennsylvania Department of Health grant, and Susquehanna Health.
Workshop presenter Helen Osborne, president of Health Literacy Consulting, Natick, Mass., and founder of Health Literacy Month (celebrated each October), has written numerous books and received many awards for her work in health literacy. Michael K. Huff, deputy secretary for health planning and assessment with the state Department of Health, gave the welcome. As part of his duties, Huff oversees the development and implementation of a statewide health plan and the coordination of public-health programs.
Topics addressed included an overview of health literacy, plain language, measuring understanding, pictographs, metaphors and putting health literacy into practice.
The final hour of the workshop was devoted to a special session for librarians on case-study application. Participants received continuing education-contact hours in various disciplines.
For more information about continuing-education offerings at Penn College, visit online , e-mail or call (570) 327-4775.