Baycrest

BrainMATTERS SPRING|SUMMER 2021 19 "Promoting health literacy among all patients, and especially among older adults, is critical to improve involvement in their care," says Dr. David K. Conn, Vice-President of Education and Director of the Centre for Education and Knowledge Exchange in Aging at Baycrest. "This will encourage better understanding of their health condition, confidence in handling their care needs and better overall self-management of their conditions." As health literacy improves, older adults are more confident, are able to understand and act upon their medical regimens, and know where and how to access healthcare services. They are informed, less worried and in a better position to age in place and live their life to the fullest. IMPROVING HEALTH LITERACY Unlike other social determinants of health, such as poverty and employment, health literacy can be addressed more directly through efforts to improve communication and by providing greater access to trusted sources of information specific to individuals' needs. To help pave the way to better health and well-being and make trusted healthcare information available to older adults in Canada and around the world, Baycrest has created online resources targeted to the health information needs of older adults. Baycrest's new Health Information Portal, available at www.baycrest.org/Baycrest/Health-Information, is a centralized, online hub for reliable geriatric health information. The portal provides easy access and excellent navigation to resources, tools and links from Baycrest experts and vetted external resources of value currently on the Baycrest website. "This portal is an extremely important resource for older adults right now," says Dr. Faith Boutcher, Director of Academic and Interprofessional Education at Baycrest. "Access to reliable health information online is especially important during these challenging times when in-person access is limited." The Health Portal also provides easy access to Baycrest's list of Dementia Resources from Around the World, which is curated information about Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia that has been vetted against standards for web accessibility for seniors, font size, language, etc. This resource helps to lessen the complexity, confusion, worry and challenge of locating reliable information about dementia and memory loss. By supporting health literacy and providing access to reliable health information, Baycrest is paving the way to better aging, helping older adults embark on the next phase of their aging journey with confidence and courage. Baycrest is grateful to the donors and sponsors who have supported the launch of our new Health Information Portal. For more information on corporate sponsorship or personal contributions to continue developing this critical program, contact Dalit Fichman at 416-785-2500, ext. 6926 or dfichman@baycrest.org THREE COMPONENTS OF HEALTH LITERACY 1. Functional health literacy refers to the knowledge and other skills that enable one to obtain and act upon information to support optimal health, including approaches and services for management of health issues and disease. 2. Interactive health literacy refers to one's ability to synthesize, understand and appropriately apply information about one's changing health needs. 3. Critical health literacy refers to more advanced cognitive abilities and skills required to analyze information, make knowledgeable decisions and take control of one's health.

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