Does social support help limited-literacy patients with medication adherence? A mixed methods study of patients in the Pharmacy Intervention for Limited Literacy (PILL) study.

Objective: To explore whether social support helps patients with limited health literacy adhere to their medication regimens.

Methods: We interviewed 275 pharmacy patients and assessed social support's influence on medication adherence for those with limited vs. adequate health literacy.

Using success stories to share knowledge and lessons learned in health promotion.

Background: Compelling success stories, rich with details about real-life events and people, are a tool that health agencies can use to convey how their health promotion programs work, why they are successful, what lessons they have learned, and how others can launch similar programs. Success stories describe project accomplishments that are not easily captured by quantitative evaluation methods, such as surveys.

Methods: Although success stories have not been widely used in public health, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services developed a series of stories, the Community Change Chronicles, to highlight environmental and policy changes that promote cardiovascular health.