Essay on 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,

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

Low health literacy is commonly associated with a low socioeconomic status. This disparity accounts for the large number of individuals that do not receive vaccinations due to the lack of insurance, information, and impending cost (Bostock & Steptoe, 2012). Individuals with low health literacy due not receive care until unconditionally necessary. This then accounts for the large number of emergency room admissions due to the serious problem that has occurred (Schumacher et al., 2013).

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

The U.S. Census Bureau currently projects the U.S. population to increase from 319 million to 417 million people between 2014 and 2016.1 Currently, the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2014 National Projections Report has put an emphasis on the rapid growth of the American population due to two factors; change in age structure and the shift of racial and ethnic compositions of the population.1 With a significant growth in the American population, health disparities in regards to race, ethnicity, gender, income and geographical location have risen tremendously, further creating a gap of health literacy.4 This gap in health literacy has created many potential problems in adequate

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/

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 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).

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

Defining health literacy is a complex task, because ofthe many variables that contribute to its meaning.Some ofthe variables identifiedinclude: reading and writingcomprehension, ability tointerpret medical information and make informed decisions, cultural and language barriers, accession andexpense of treatment and assailablepopulations. All these components, among others, diminish capacity for insight forin-depth understanding.The World Health Organization defines health literacy as the cognitive and social skills which determine the motivation and abiltiyof individuals to gain access to understand and use information in way which promote and maintain good health (WHO, 1998). The Institute of Medicines defines the concept as the individuals

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 %

Health literacy plays an important role in individuals’ decision-making. The scope of health literacy does not limit to traditional medical perspective. It has extended from basic understanding of diseases and medication to all aspects that affect health. As one of the key social determinants, health literacy has huge impact on health and well-being. Yet, the influence is further associated with disease prevention, lifestyle, policy making, etc. This essay will first discuss the concept of health literacy and the consequences that link to it, and then give a strategy, designing user-centred messages in education, to improve health literacy, and the roles of health professionals.

Health literacy is the peoples’ understanding of the information about health and health care. As well as how the information is applied to their lives including making decisions and representing it. Health literacy is essential to people’s lives as it form people’s health including the safety and quality of health care.

Health literacy is defined as “the degree to which individuals can obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions”.9 Low