Essay On Health Disparities

Health literacy has been demarcated as the measurement of the individual’s capacity to obtain, understand and process simple health information. It is needed to make satisfactory health decisions and determine services needed to treat or prevent illness. Health literacy requires knowledge from many topics, comprising the patient’s own body, appropriate conducts towards healthy results and the difficulties to understand the health system. It is influenced by many conditions such as our communication skills, age, socio-economic status, and cultural background, past experiences, educational level and mental health status (U.S. Department of

Health Disparities- differences in morbidity, mortality and access to health among population group defined by factors such as socioeconomic status, gender residence, race and ethnicity.

In the United States (U.S.) health disparities continue to graphically-impact the lives of many Americans (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). Access to health care remains inadequate for nearly 42 million of Americans that is 13.4% of the population with no health coverage (United States Census Bureau, 2013). In the Deaf and Hard (DHOH) population, health insurance deprivation may not be the only cause for the inadequate reason for the inaccessibility preventative cares. Therefore, mixed method approach provides a deeper insight into the possible underlining cause to inadequate care (Creswell, 2009). Combined qualitative and quantitative study designs enable a visual understanding of the inability to access preventable care than if the two study designs were conducted independently (Creswell, 2009). This form of study design through a set of data collection and

Health literacy is the ability to read, comprehend, and utilize healthcare information in order to make health related decisions based on the individual 's interpretation of this information (Eadie, 2014). This includes the individual 's ability to "perform Internet searches, reading health prevention pamphlets, measuring medication doses, and understanding and complying with verbal or written health care instructions" (Eadie, 2014, p. 10). These barriers significantly affect patient safety and require intervention from health care professionals. As we have learned in our previous theory courses, many individuals experience some form of limited health literacy; however, "the Institute of Medicine reports that 90 million American adults lack basic health literacy" (as cited in Eadie, 2014, p.10).

Therefore, health literacy signifies more than being competent in reading pamphlets and making appointments. Current literature suggests health literacy as a personal resource has promise to be “developed as part of lifelong formal and informal learning process” from participation in occupations regardless of the individual’s age or formal level of education (Wister, Malloy-Weir, Rootman, & Desjardins, 2010). Increasing access to health information is critical to advancing health literacy so that health care providers may improve and empower the general public’s ability to comprehend medical encounters (Nutbeam, 1998).

Health literacy is based on one’s ability to acquire and process information so that the best possible health care choices can be made (Altin, Finke, Kautz-Freimuth, & Stock, 2014). Having adequate levels of health literacy is imperative to preventing disease/illness and maintaining optimal health. Current research documents the importance health literacy has on making informed health care decisions, allowing patient self-efficacy, and facilitating health and wellness (Aboumatar, Carson, Beach, Roter, & Cooper, 2013). When health literacy levels are low, individuals have trouble understanding the consequences of risky health behavior, tend to get sick more often, have more chronic disease, are more likely to be uninsured, and are less

Health literacy is defined as the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic information and services needed to make appropriate decisions regarding their health (Sherwood & Barnsteiner, 2012). The manner and tone in which healthcare providers explain information to patients and their families can determine whether they experience positive health outcomes, and/or if they choose to be compliant with the lifestyle changes and interventions provided to them. Healthcare providers need to be mindful when discussing health matters with patients and families; they need to realize that not every person understands the complex medical languages used, and at times, these misunderstandings can lead to poor patient outcomes, including death.

Health literacy is an issue throughout an entire organization. From the moment when a client walks into the door and is asked about their insurance to the time that they have to leave with their prescriptions, there is the possibility of miscommunication.   The AMA-MSS Subcommittee on Health Literacy reports that people with poor health literacy are more likely to have more emergency room visits with many of them being unnecessary, more hospital stays, higher mortality rates and are less likely to be compliant with treatment plans (Spann). Issues an

In a day where access to technological advances have far exceeded man’s initial intentions, still, millions of people remain marginalized without access to health literacy. Many socioeconomic factors serve as barriers to health literacy. Among them include factors like financial status, education level, and culture, just to name a few.

The United States has the highest life expectancy, but as a nation we are sicker. In May of 2010 the United States Department of Health and Human Services implemented The National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy in efforts to improve health literacy and the health of the nation. The Center for Disease and Control defines Health Literacy as the level of which a person can access, communicate, evaluate and understand basic health information. Health Literacy can range from knowledge about preventative care, treatment and awareness of all factors that can influence a patient’s decision making. The major influence of health literacy is doctors, pharmacist and many other lay persons in the medicine and health sector. This paper seeks to support that health literacy is connected to every aspect of everyday life including, race, ethnicity, age and most importantly healthy lifestyles including behaviors, patient 's choice, and even patient 's care.

The ability to obtain, comprehend, process, and communicate health information in an effort to make health decisions is the definition of health literacy. The literacy rate in the United States is staggering. Fifty percent of adults cannot read at an eighth-grade level (Literacy Project, 2017). Nurses may not be aware of the enormity of this problem because, more than likely, their social contacts consist of friends and family who are educated. In today’s climate of managed care, illiteracy can have devastating effects, because patients have a greater responsibility for

Physicians argue that researchers should spend less time trying to improve on overall communities health literacy, and instead let individual practices focus on their own patients. Kristen Johnson, an M.D. said in Experts Debate Value of Assessing Health Literacy, “As a physician, you want to know how much of what you are telling a patient is getting through. This gives some guidance on how to tailor your message.” Another M.D., Joanne G. Schwartzberg added on that, “Clinicians can better spend their time ensuring that all their patients understand the medical information they need to know to care for themselves.” As I can see values of their points, I find it arguable. For some it may be easy to focus on their own specific patients instead of addressing health literacy as nationwide issue, but there needs to be specification making sure Americans receive the same valuable information to better

Health literacy refers to an individual’s capacity to understand healthcare information and make proper decisions regarding their medical conditions. Healthcare professionals are therefore obligated to ensure that patients understand the health information provided to them. The HCAHPS standardized data survey was used to observe, measure and analyze patients’ perspectives on the communication and health literacy provided at one San Diego area hospital, and compare those levels to the California and national averages. From these findings, doctor and nurse communication with respondents garnered “Always” percentiles between 75%-82%, suggesting that patients were satisfied with the communication and health literacy techniques provided. The levels

Health literacy in not solely based on an individual’s ability to read; it is their ability to read, listen, and analyze health information and then apply that information to make complex health care decisions. Health literacy has been so strongly linked to disease understanding, treatment adherence, and health outcomes that recommendations suggest that health literacy should be assessed routinely when working with patients, especially those who are infected with chronic diseases. Health literacy impacts patient outcomes at three critical stages: access to health care, interaction between patient and health care provider, and self-care. Low health literacy has been linked to inadequate engagement in care and may serve as a contributor to poor health outcomes among people living with chronic and acute health conditions. Patients with basic or low health literacy skills do not have the ability to perform even the simplest of those tasks, nor are they able to provide information as to why and when certain illnesses might need to have a specified

Martinez-Donate et al. (2013), suggest health literacy affects a patients' understanding of prevention, screening, diagnoses and treatment plans, as well as decision-making and adherence to treatment. Insufficient health literacy contributes to poor health and an increase in mortality, especially for those with comorbidities like diabetes and depression, while sufficient health literacy is key for patient-provider communication and