Factors Affecting Health Literacy Rates Within Cayce Homes

Literacy. The Google dictionary definition will say “The ability to read and write.” Or “Competence or knowledge in a specified area.” But what does the word literacy mean to you? What literacy means to

A healthcare disparity is a limitation of healthcare availability, usually among a certain racial or socioeconomic demographic (Black, 2013). However, there are disparities that don’t have a specific demographic and affect the entirety of the United States, which are potentially most detrimental to the overall health of our country. One of those disparities is health literacy, or the exchange of complex information from the healthcare provider to the patient or client (Black, 2013). The lack of health literacy in America poses as a problem, especially with the chronically ill. Without proper knowledge of how to treat their illness and what to do when the disease process worsens or ameliorates can potentially cause millions of unnecessary hospitalizations,

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

Regional School Unit (RSU) #64 is comprised of an elementary, middle and high school within a small rural community in the town of Corinth, ME. This community is largely supported by agriculture and local business. However, it is about 20 miles from Bangor, ME, the closest city with numerous resources. Unfortunately, this distance restricts Corinth residents with a lack of transportation from having access to these resources. Inadequate knowledge and awareness of health care promotion and prevention methods also have adverse results on community health. Whether the resource be obtaining a pair of glasses or medication from a pharmacy, even the seemingly effortless tasks can present challenges and go to show that members of this community suffer disparity due to their rural location.

Low health literacy has negative health outcomes for many individuals impacted by the unattained health information and teaching that has not been established. Many low literacy individuals do not seek needed treatment due to the cost, unfamiliar location, and the foreign procedures that may occur. Individuals that suffer from low literacy are more prone to the development of chronic disease like diabetes, hypertension, and heart failure.

Health literacy has been a problem with our patients. The most vulnerable populations are the elderly, people with low-income levels, those with limited education, non-native speakers of English, those with chronic mental and physical health conditions, minority, and immigrant populations. Nurses have a great role in helping our patients succeed in understanding their health conditions. Nurses can be of great help in promoting health literacy. Sykes, Wills, Rowlands and Popple (2013) defined health literacy as the ability of individuals to access, understand, appraise, and apply health information. The three domains of health literacy, according to Bennett and Perkins (2012) as adapted from the (WHO) (1998) are functional health literacy, interactive literacy, and critical health literacy. Functional health literacy is basic reading and writing skills to be able to function effectively in a health context. Interactive health literacy is the used of more advanced cognitive and literacy skills to participate in health care. Critical health literacy is the ability to analyze critically and to use information to participate in action, to overcome structural barriers to health (p.14). The U.S. Department of Education published the findings of the National Assessment of Adult Literacy conducted in 2003. The result showed that 36 % of adults have basic or below-basic skills for dealing with health material, 52 %

A big problem today in health care for many people is health literacy. Health literacy is when a person is able to understand and process medical information they are given. Having low health literacy can affect how a person understands, and uses information about their health and health services (Batterham 2016). Low health literacy rates lead to big issues in communication. Limited literacy impacts health behaviors, decisions, and ultimately outcomes. Many people have low health literacy which leads to bad health outcomes. Research shows that low literacy is linked with the lower likelihood of people being able to manage their own health conditions, and less access to health care services which can lead to poor health outcomes. There are many reasons people have low health literacy, A lack of formal education and poor reading ability aren't the only causes of low health literacy. Low health literacy is associated with a number of things like poor engagement in health services, health knowledge, and overall health status. People with low health literacy may feel ashamed and try to hide it from professionals and family members. Most health care professionals are unaware of the level of health literacy their patient has. (Greenhalgh 2015) There is a need to identify individual health literacy needs and address how to work on solutions to benefit them and whole groups of people. Differences in health literacy

Literacy is the ability to read and write, and it is based on different competency of individuals. Health literacy is a term that has been used in health literature for more than 35 years. In the United States, health literacy is used to explicate and describe the correlation between patient literacy levels and their ability to adhere with prescribed therapeutic regimens (Ad Hoc Committee on Health Literacy, 1999). Likewise, health literacy is also defined as the grade to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions (IOM, 2004) (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], 2000). Health literacy is also influenced by individual literacy skills and individual capacities (Baker, Gazmararian, Sudano & Patterson, 2000). This study is important due to the high number of patients with difficulty interpreting and understanding common prescription drug labelled instructions. It can be inferred that

Only 15-40 % of the population in the U.S. are health literate (Kirk et al. 2012) and 14% of the total adult population have below basic/functional literacy. Of the total adult population with basic health literacy skills, 14 % of the population are men and 16% of the population are

“Health Literacy” a term to define literacy in healthcare. “An estimated 90 million people in the U.S. have difficulties understanding and using health information” (Hawkins, Kantayya and Sharkey-Asner, 2010). Low health literacy poses public health risks due to groups of people not being able to adequately care for themselves and stay healthy. This paper argues the importance of literacy as it pertains to health and also explores the various types of literacy that can impact how health information is received and understood from the general public.

Lambert, V., & Keogh, D. (2014). Health literacy and its importance for effective communication. Part 2. Nursing Children & Young People, 26(4), 32-36. doi:10.7748/ncyp2014.05.26.4.32.e387http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.devry.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=2012573600&site=ehost-live

Health literacy is defined as "The degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions" (Michael K. Paasche-Orlow, 2010), the word Health literacy first appeared in 1974 in a paper which calls for “education standards for all grade school levels in USA” (Carolyn Speros, 2004) . Some recent works suggest that there is a relation between literacy, low health and premature deaths (Christina Zarcadoolas et al, 2005).

Healthy People 2010 define health literacy as “the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health care related decisions.” These are the skills that people need to find the right place in the hospital, fill out insurance forms, and communicate appropriately with

Health literacy is an essential determinant of health. Health literacy is the degree in which people have the ability to obtain process and understand fundamental health services and information in order to make informed health decisions throughout different phases of life. Patients who are better educated and informed about their options and who understand the evidence behind certain methodologies may have better health outcomes. On the other hand, low health literacy leads to many health problems. In fact, it seems to be the “single biggest cause of poor health outcomes” (Kickbusch 208). Low health literacy inhibits self-advocacy in health care settings. Patients with limited literacy cannot actively participate in health-related decisions

Conversely, consequences stand as the events that occur as an outcome of the concept (Walker & Avant, 2011). Consequences of health literacy include lower health care costs, less frequent hospitalizations, less frequent visits to health care providers, an improved ability to manage own’s health, an improved ability to navigate the health care system, and an increased amount of knowledge related to health information (Egbert & Nanna, 2009; Betz et al., 2008). Furthermore, increasing health literacy also positively affects the community by promoting a healthier and more productive society.