A study recounted by the National Institutes of Health tells of a mother who mistakenly pours an oral antibiotic into her 2-year-old’s ear, not understanding the directions for the medication prescribed for an inner-ear infection.
The COVID-19 pandemic revealed trust in our health care system is not a given. People do not seek traditional health care for their health information and services, such as COVID vaccines. Instead, they turn to the community-based organizations they trust, such as churches, community centers or food banks.
One such award created Health Confianza, a joint initiative of the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, UT Health San Antonio and the University of Texas at San Antonio to increase the availability, acceptability and use of COVID-19 health information and services in San Antonio’s most disparate ZIP codes.
Health Confianza is piloting an innovative pledge program to help community-based health organizations evolve into more health literate organizations. These organizations have pledged to make their services more understandable and accessible by participating in a learning collaborative that will equip them to enact policy and practice changes.