Learning how to assess health literacy is an important part of providing quality care to patients. Determining if a patient needs additional help understanding their care/treatment will assist you in effectively partnering with patients.
Using the Single Item Literacy Screener (SILS), HCPs can quickly determine which patients are most likely to require additional help understanding their treatment.
Single Item Literacy Screener
“How often do you need to have someone help you when you read instructions, pamphlets, or other written material from your doctor or pharmacy?”
Possible responses:
Never (1)
Rarely (2)
Sometimes (3)
Often (4)
Always (5)
Scores greater than 2 are considered positive, indicating some difficulty with reading printed health-related material.
Related Patient Resources
IBD Glossary
A list of medical terms commonly used in the context of IBD created by the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.
Visit site
How is IBD Diagnosed
A webpage from the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation that explains the process of diagnosing IBD. It highlights the importance of medical evaluation and various diagnostic tests such as endoscopy, colonoscopy, imaging scans, and laboratory tests to determine the presence of IBD.
Visit site
Crohn’s Disease Treatment
A webpage by the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation that is dedicated to explaining the treatment options for Crohn’s disease. This page provides an overview of different treatment approaches, including medication, surgery, and lifestyle modifications.
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Reference
- 1. Morris NS, MacLean CD, Chew LD, Littenberg B. The single item literacy screener: evaluation of a brief instrument to identify limited reading ability. BMC Fam Pract. 2006;7(1):21. doi:10.1186/1471-2296-7-21.