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Good communication will impact clinical practice by assisting patients in understanding health information as well as medical recommendations. Health literacy is important for communication between healthcare professionals and patients with Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (COPD). In this article we review the concepts, definitions and measurement tools used to evaluate health literacy and recommend ways in which this information may be integrated into clinical practice. Increased awareness of health literacy will assist clinicians to improve patients' knowledge of their disease and adherence to healthcare recommendations.

We draw on a focus group discussion amongst four Indigenous northern Ontario early childhood educators (ECEs) from an Indigenous postsecondary institution’s ECE diploma program, to show the important contributions of programs offered by Indigenous postsecondary education institutes to Indigenous cultural revitalization. We are the Indigenous Elder, two instructors, and senior administrator of the program, as well as a non-Indigenous university professor. We argue for Indigenous community-generated curricula that embody local Indigenous cultural knowledge, values, and practices, drawing on themes arising from analysis of focus group data: participants felt that they brought limited knowledge of their Indigenous language and culture to their program, and participants experienced an awakening of Indigenous knowledge through their participation in Indigenous practices outside the core curriculum.