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QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

Background: The importance of becoming a Health-Literate Organization gained momentum in our pediatric organization, driven by the Healthy People 2030 initiative, Social Determinants of Health Screening and organizational strategies focused on enhancing patient outcomes. The Health Literacy Champion Program (HLCP) was expanded in 2024-2025 to embed subject matter experts into inpatient care units, thereby infusing health literacy best practices to enhance patient communication.

Methodology: The initial phase involved aligning the HLCP interventions with organizational strategic priorities and establishing shared goals among stakeholders. The program leads identified key priority indicators and metrics to evaluate the program. The second phase focused on promoting metric outcomes more broadly using a multi-pronged communication approach among clinicians. HLCP champion engagement was tracked utilizing meeting attendance rosters, number of champions, and attrition rates. In addition, the champions shared perceptions and personal narratives to highlight the program’s impact on patient experiences. Lastly, the adoption of health literacy strategies was assessed through self-reported surveys at pre-, 6-months, and 1-year post-implementation of the HLCP.

Outcomes: Staff engagement outcomes showed a significant increase in the number of champions from 2024 to 2025 by 25 participants, a 19% attrition rate due to role change, and an increase in the average rate of monthly meeting attendance from 32% in 2024 to 52% in quarter 2 of 2025. This growth resulted in the development of the HLCP as a formal nursing professional governance forum in 2024. Overall, champions’ personal narratives highlighted how health literacy strategies positively impacted patient experiences. These narratives demonstrated the overall positive impact of implementing health literacy best practices and the importance of ingraining these practices into patient care delivery. To promote the dissemination of metric outcomes, an electronic quarterly newsletter was distributed in 2024 and 2025 and viewed on average by 2,010 team members. Self-reported survey showed a statistically significant increase in the application of two health literacy strategies from pre- to 1-year post.

Publication Date

11-24-2025

Disciplines

Pediatric Nursing

Embedding Health Literacy Practices Through a Champion Program: A Strategic Expansion

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