Acupuncture Concepts for Primary Care & COVID-19: Transforming Rural Healthcare with Health Literacy

Acupuncture Concepts for Primary Care & COVID-19: Transforming Rural Healthcare with Health Literacy is organized by Texas Osteopathic Medical Association (TOMA).

Description:
Acupuncture Concepts for Primary Care:
This session will discuss the Eastern and Western approaches to acupuncture, their underlying mechanisms, and conditions for which acupuncture may be effective according to the most recent evidence. Learners will also have the opportunity to locate and palpate common acupuncture points used for conditions such as migraine headache and nausea.

Upon completion of this presentation, participants will be able to:

• Understand the basic principles and mechanisms behind acupuncture
• Recall conditions for which an acupuncture referral may be appropriate
• Palpate common high-yield acupuncture points for migraine headache and nausea

COVID-19: Transforming Rural Healthcare with Health Literacy:
This presentation demonstrates how health literacy and cultural humility build a bridge with communities from a real-world scenario. Many rural communities throughout the country experienced Covid-19 health disparities especially in minority populations who work in manual labor jobs. During the pandemic, Mount Pleasant, a rural community in Texas, became a hotspot for Covid-19 cases. Titus Regional Medical Center, the local healthcare facility, became overwhelmed with Covid-19 cases. They reached out to SaferCare Texas' Clinical Executive for Health Literacy for assistance. We developed a multipronged communication renovation approach similar to the Hanover Research Model of Strategies. Interventions needed were assessed, a community health worker hired, and solutions implemented to alleviate communication barriers and help prevent similar future public health outcomes.

Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to:

• Understand Health Literacy & Cultural Competency roles in patient and public health communication.
• Examine the importance of Health Literate & Cultural Competent interpersonal relationships and communication in public health outcomes.
• Apply the concepts in a real world setting to improve healthcare system and provider communication to optimize public health outcomes.