Health Literacy Essay

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

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

Health literacy is the ability for an individual to understand the necessary ways to treat and maintain potential illness, as well as the knowledge to achieve a healthy lifestyle. This may include altering the way in which the information is given to the client in order to best allow them to grasp the material being presented to them. Effective health literacy also includes providing knowledge to the client in order to allow them to make informed decisions, become aware of the benefits available to them, and learn where they can access the care they require (Massey, Prelip, Calimlim, Afifi, Quiter, Nessim, Wongvipat-Kalev, & Glik, 2013). By providing education to the client in a way they can understand and are comfortable with, the nurse or health care professional is greatly increasing the health literacy of the individual.

The health literacy need chosen was cultural competency, a poster was made as the resource as many culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) individuals face a barrier in health literacy in which there thought process and reactions are different to those that are more use to the western healthcare system. The way CALD individuals view certain health problems such as death, recovery and certain diseases may not align with the western biomedical model as their culture may not be synonymous with Australian culture or they may have faced negative experiences in their previous health experiences (Holmes and Grech, 2015). The resource made attempts to responds to this health literacy need by trying to eliminate the fear of a cultural barrier between

Literacy is not just the ability to read a book or write your own name, it is a more complex problem that an astounding part of the American population faces. According to the National Adult Literacy Survey of 1993 (NALS), which measures literacy levels in three ways: prose literacy, document literacy, and quantitative literacy, 27 percent of people that took this literacy test have a level 2 literacy level; on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being literate (Perez & Luquis, 2014). Consequently, these levels indicate less than a seventh grade education. Today’s information and technological society proves daunting for even the most literate of people who face problems dealing with our health care system. Providing critical

\Often there is concern deciding how to improve this area of healthcare, and this is resolved by establishing that it is the responsibility of all healthcare professions to identify information gaps in order to come to the more rational and beneficial conclusion about declining health literacy in this population.

Shedding light on how health literacy and patient empowerment impacts medication adherence has profound implications for further research, the clinical practice as well as for health policy making. Let me briefly outline some of the potential contributions of the outcomes of this research project in the next

The health literacy assessment is a great tool at the time of providing a better idea of the level of understanding for patients. I friends help me with the assignment, we used to different versions of the test to compare them and appreciate how easy or complicated they can be. After finishing them, we got to the conclusion that neither of the test versions were complicated; instead it was perceive like a word game. On the other hand I do not know if patients will fell the same way that my friend did about testing. Personally, I will not think having a problem administrating this test to a patient but I am concern on the patient wiliness to take a test. Many people can feel overwhelm about testing and not be too collaborative about it which

The problems associated with the health literacy have been identified by the researchers in the last ten years. They came to know the role played by it in the medical as well as the individual self care by the comprehension of information related to health and the outcomes related to it (Carolyn Speros, 2004).

The United States’ healthcare reform has and still is going through systematic improvements and developments. Since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act - 36 out of the 50 states rely on the federal health exchange, which is also known as The Marketplace for its healthcare coverage. Texas is one of those states that utilizes this for its residents to research and compare coverage costs for any given provider. As evidence has demonstrated that patients who are involved in their health care tend to experience a superior outcome and decreased costs. As a result, numerous public and private health care organizations are employing strategies to better engage their patients, such as educating them about their conditions and involving them

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

Wittenberg-Lyles, Goldsmith, and Ragan (2011) point out that health literacy is required in order to navigate medical care and contributes to the isolated journey. Communication is vital to informing patients regarding complex issues of symptom control, emotional support, and realistic goals. When there is an absence of PC and thinking, patients and families are limited to talk about treatment and side effects, focusing strictly on curative measures, and collaboration is limited (Wittenburg-Lyles, Goldsmith, & Ragan, 2011).

Public health is a very wide topic that covers many different fields and affects the lives of everyone on this planet. This course has been very eye opening and very informative to what is included in Public Health. Beginning from week one I found it interesting reading the discussion post from my fellow classmates and to see how they all were interested in different aspects of public health. This was a good opportunity to get to know what was the motivation of others and what to read opinions about the different topics related to health was. Overall the discussion topics were something that I really liked because it involved some research, but not too intensive research as well as gave the opportunity to learn from other classmates on their experiences and research. This was a great way to help build up for what we will have to do a lot in the future with is do research and share what we

Communication in nursing is an essential skill which allows nurses to capably deliver effective and efficient care. Nurses being providers of health care must be able to recognise and prevent barriers that may occur throughout the communication process as their job is to primarily interact with patients in a culturally diverse workplace (Dwyer, 2012). Barriers such as health illiteracy and poor communication play an important role on the care that is delivered by nurses and other health care providers. In 2006 an adult literacy and life skills survey was conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), information collected from the survey had shown that 59% of the Australian adult population displayed low health literacy skills. This high figure indicates that nearly 6 out of 10 Australians over the age of eighteen may not be able to make appropriate