Assessing spoken communication - workplace assessment

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Acknowledgement

This assessment tool is influenced by and includes content from D DeWalt et al., Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit: Communication Self-Assessment, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville MD, 2014, viewed 21 July 2014, www.ahrq.gov/professionals/quality-patient-safety/quality-resources/tools/literacy-toolkit/index.html

Select one answer that most accurately describes your Service:

Doing well: Our service is doing this well
Could be better: Our service is doing this, but could do it better
Not doing: Our service is not doing this
Not sure or N/A: I don't know the answer, or it is not applicable to our service

No.	Question	Doing well	Could be better	Not doing	Not sure/N/A
1.	Staff have received training in health literacy and communication.
2.	There is widespread support across staff for excellent communication.
3.	Staff routinely offer people directions to various places within the facility, using everyday words.
4.	Reception and other relevant staff routinely offer to help consumers fill in forms.
5.	Frontline staff can identify behaviours that may indicate literacy difficulties.
6.	Staff use plain language when communicating with consumers and avoid medical jargon (e.g. 'hypertension').
7.	When communicating with consumers, staff routinely limit information to less than five main points.
8.	When providing instructions, staff are clear and specific (e.g., 'Take one tablet every day, at the same time every day'.
9.	Staff speak at an appropriate pace.
10.	Staff use visual aids to promote better understanding and information recall.
11.	Staff back-up spoken communication with written information tailored to each person's needs, explain the written information and highlight important sections or points.
12.	Staff use the Teach-back method or similar to check they have communicated effectively.
13.	Staff encourage people to ask questions by using phrases like: 'What questions do you have?' not 'Do you have any questions?'
14.	Staff know how and when to access language services for people who do not speak English well.
15.	Staff refer to familiar landmarks when telling people how to get to the service.