Health Literacy

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,

I really enjoyed reading your post. This is a good example of how poor health literacy can have a detrimental effect on a patient’s health. In a journal article the authors stated that health literacy is a strong predictor of a person’s health status (Schwatz et al., 2013). As seen in the AMA video and in the example that given here, it is clear that health literacy has a direct effect on one’s ability to make important healthcare decisions. Your example also reminds me that fear may play a big role in health literacy and one’s ability to make healthcare decisions. Making healthcare decision for yourself at time can be a daunting task no matter the culture, level or education, of background. It is so important that providers consider

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 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

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2008). America's Health Literacy: Why We Need Accessible Health Information. Retrieved from https://health.gov/communication/literacy/issuebrief/

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

The burden of chronic diseases in the United States claimed the lives of over 90 million Americans (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as cited in Parker & Thorson, 2009) with 2.9 trillion dollars spent on health care expenditures in 2013 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). In the United States (U.S.) Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death, which affects over 70 million people (Thom et al. 2006). The American Heart Association (AHA), estimated one in two women and two in three men are affected by CVD (AHA as cited in McKee et al., 2011). Cardiovascular Disease In the sub-minorities like the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHOH) population are neglected and disproportionately affected. The disproportion

Disparities in health care are significant in the United States and the root causes are multifactorial. Social determinants of health such as poverty, socioeconomic status, access to resources, and patient education influence health outcomes. Emerging data has shown health literacy as a potential contributor to health disparities that impact health and lifestyle choices (Yee, 2017). Health literacy, characterized as a skill set necessary to understand health information, involves communication skills of both patient and health professionals as well as cultural factors. For example, low health literacy has been shown to contribute to health disparities, especially in racial and ethnic minorities (Hill-Briggs, 2012). As a result of an increasingly diverse ethnic/cultural and racial

Glass, A. P., & Butler, D. Q. (2010). Health literacy and older adults. Journal of the

Background: Health literacy presents a huge challenge in the delivery of effective healthcare and quality outcomes. We evaluated association between low health literacy and healthcare utilization.

The financial consequences of low health literacy will affect society as a whole. Our health insurance will rise. The educational institute will be affect as they rewrite the health information in a simplistic format to make it possible for someone with low health literacy to understand the material. This is costly in printing but, also in educating the health professionals. According to the article, the cost of low health literacy annually per capita is $3,90 that is equivalent to the costs of health coverage for more than 60 million Americans. Personally, cost is not the only factor that affects society there is the problem of health risk to the public. Low health literacy patients wait until they are gravely ill to seek medical treatment

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).

Health literacy is both a consumer and public healthcare issue. As a health care provider, it is not only my responsibility to ensure that you understand your health and what is going on

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