Looking to improve health care, a team of second-year students at the Commonwealth Medical College analyzed a factor they said is a stronger predictor of someone's health status than age, income or education level: health literacy.
"If people don't understand what they are being told, or how to express what they are feeling, they have an increased risk of treatment errors and are likely to waste more money," said Doug Zaruta, one of six students responsible for the first-place project.
Dozens of medical students packed TCMC's main lobby Thursday for the college's fourth annual research symposium and explained to health care professionals and college administration the logic and findings behind their quality-care research projects.
The projects differed in topic, from the effects of body mass index on adolescent health to sleep apnea. But all students had the same goal in mind: improve health care, said Valerie Weber, M.D., founding chairwoman of the department of clinical sciences and associate dean for clinical affairs.
"They immersed themselves in the community and developed angles to address problems," Dr. Weber said.
Working with the Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education, Mr. Zaruta's group asked officials to give patients a seven-word recognition test - such as "rectal" and "exercise" - adapted from the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine instrument.
Of the 903 patients who took the test, about 13 percent failed to score at a high school level - meaning they will struggle with most patient education materials, Mr. Zaruta said.
"It's pretty remarkable, but it shows we might have to educate our patients more," he said.
Though his group didn't see the results they expected, student Ronald Bogdasarian said he is pleased with his project, which aimed to increase patient enrollment in smoking cessation.
The project included a three-step approach that ended with a physician at PrimeMed spending more time speaking with patients who smoke.
"It's more than just a normal 'Do you smoke,'â" he said. "It's providing them with strategies and tips to how they can deal with stress while they try to quit."
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