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State of California to Add Award-Winning Self-Help Book for Parents to Every 'New Parent' Kit Handed Out Statewide

Posted on: Tuesday, 8 November 2005, 12:00 CST

First 5 California, a state agency that administers early childhood development services for all children in California from prenatal to five years old, has ordered 342,000 copies of the award-winning self-help medical book, "What To Do When Your Child Gets Sick."

The book, published by the La Habra, Calif.-based not-for-profit Institute for Healthcare Advancement (IHA), will be placed in every "Kit for New Parents" that is handed out to the parents of newborns in the state of California for the duration of the 2005-2006 fiscal year.

Since its publication in 2000, nearly 1 million copies of "What To Do When Your Child Gets Sick" have been sold or distributed nationally and internationally. The book has been hailed by clinicians as the "Holy Grail" of health care reference books and has been used in multiple studies to measure how emergency room overuse can be reduced with simple self-help tools that are written in easy-to-understand language. The book has also won numerous awards for its trailblazing efforts in improving health literacy.

"What To Do When Your Child Gets Sick" is a valuable addition to our "Kit for New Parents," which is made available to every new parent in California," said Kris Perry, Executive Director of First 5 California. "From sore throats to nose bleeds, this guide provides solutions to common health problems in an easy-to-understand manner that parents will appreciate."

The book is already available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese, and the IHA is adding two additional translated versions, in Chinese (Mandarin) and Korean.

"What To Do When Your Child Gets Sick" was written by two registered nurses who were frustrated with the typical 11th grade reading level of most patient education materials, a major problem considering that studies have shown 90 million American adults (approximately one in two) cannot read above a fifth grade level. The "What To Do When Your Child Gets Sick" book is an easy to read educational tool that helps those with reading difficulties care for their loved ones.

"People with limited healthcare knowledge struggle every day to understand doctors and nurses who talk in medical jargon, and they generally avoid reading medical reference books because they are too difficult to understand," explained Gloria Mayer, R.N., Ed.D., co-author of the book and president of the IHA. "This book empowers parents to take charge of their children's health by giving them practical information and delivering it in a way that is easy for them to read, understand and apply."

The Institute for Healthcare Advancement is a La Habra-based not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing healthcare delivery through the demonstration of innovative healthcare practices and the education of healthcare professionals and consumers. The Institute is nationally recognized for its efforts in health literacy and provides healthcare information through its various publishing efforts, the Internet, and its renowned local and national education programs. For more information, please go to www.iha4health.org, or call toll-free (800) 434-4633.

Source: Business Wire

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