ELAA Med+ - Using a Mock Patient Portal to Address Digital and Health Literacy in a Community-Based Adult ESOL Program

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Himbo

ELAA Med+ was created by Literacy Connects’ English Language Acquisition for Adults program in Tucson, Arizona to meet participant demand for health literacy and digital skills support. The project uses a mock patient portal to let adult learners practice contacting providers, requesting prescription refills, and scheduling appointments in a setting modeled on local patient portals. Grounded in health and digital health literacy research, the article outlines best practices for designing and implementing mock portals in volunteer-taught adult ESOL classes and summarizes lessons learned from deployment.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Responding to Student Requests

Addressing COVID-19–related digital and health literacy needs

Building the mock patient portal (ELAA Med+)

Lessons Learned and Best Practices

ADULT LITERACY EDUCATION SPRING 2025 | [http://doi.org/10.35847/KVanRoekel.EStudstill.ELeppert.7.2.32](http://doi.org/10.35847/KVanRoekel.EStudstill.ELeppert.7.2.32) | | | --- | --- | | | Report from the Field | ELAA Med+: Using a Mock Patient Portal to Address Digital and Health Literacy in a Community-Based Adult ESOL Program Kate Van Roekel, Elizabeth Studstill, and Edie Lantz Leppert, Literacy Connects Abstract In response to high demand from program participants for both health literacy and digital skills support, the Literacy Connects English Language Acquisition for Adults program in Tucson, Arizona, created a mock patient portal (ELAA Med+) for use in their free, community-based, volunteer-taught English language and computer basics classes. Built with readily available web tools, ELAA Med+ is a rich health and digital literacy tool that includes opportunities for adult learners to practice contacting their health care providers, requesting prescription refills, and scheduling appointments in a mock patient portal designed to imitate patient portals used by local Tucson health care providers. This article grounds the mock patient portal project in current health and digital health literacy research, describes best practices for creating and implementing a mock patient portal in a volunteer-taught adult English language and literacy program, and shares lessons learned. Keywords: health literacy, digital health literacy, patient portal, English language learners Health literacy and digital health literacy have been shown to profoundly impact health outcomes. The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Healthy People 2030 initiative is a set of “data-driven national objectives to improve health and well-being over the next decade”(Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion [ODPHP], n.d., n.p.) . It defines personal health literacy as “the degree to which individuals have the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others”(ODPHP, n.d., n.p.) . Individuals with low health literacy are likely to have difficulty accessing, comprehending, and implementing health information, resulting in worse health outcomes when compared with individuals with higher levels of health literacy (Coughlin et al., 2020) . Higher levels of health literacy are associated with higher levels of digital health literacy and access to technology and internet connection. Seidel et al. (2023) define digital health literacy as “the ability to seek, find, understand, and appraise health information from electronic sources and apply the knowledge gained to addressing or solving a health problem”(para. 2). Individuals with higher levels of digital health literacy demonstrate greater confidence and efficacy in managing chronic health conditions and are more likely to access digital health records via patient portals (Seidelet al., 2023). Patient portal use is associated with “better patient-reported outcomes, including increased knowledge and reduced disease-related stress”(Johnson et al., 2023, para. 5). However, patients with lower digital health literacy are less likely to be aware of or use patient portals (Deshpande et al., 2023), which “further exacerbates healthcare disparities”(Johnson et al., 2023, para. 5). English language learners (Soto Mas et al., 2013) and people with emerging digital skills (Arias Lopez, et al., 2023) are both likely to have lower levels of health and digital health literacy than the general population. The shift to electronic medical records, online patient portals, and telehealth, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic (Shaver, 2022), has largely left English language learners Correspondence: [kvanroekel@literacyconnects.org](kvanroekel@literacyconnects.org) 32 and people with emerging digital skills behind, resulting in increasing health care inequity (Chang et al., 2021) . Responding to Student Req

FAQs

What problem does ELAA Med+ address in the adult ESOL program?

It addresses high participant demand for both health literacy and digital skills support, especially for learners who need help navigating health information and technology.

How does ELAA Med+ support learners’ practice?

It provides a mock patient portal where learners can practice contacting health care providers, requesting prescription refills, and scheduling appointments.

Why are mock patient portals important for digital health literacy?

The text explains that patient portal use is linked to better outcomes, but learners with lower digital health literacy may be less aware of or use portals, widening disparities.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Himbo