Health Literacy Research Paper

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

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

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

My definition of health literacy has greatly changed during this course. Looking back upon my first post, I realize that I knew little of health literacy. After this class, I have realized that most adults have low health literacy levels and require instructions in simple form to obtain a clear understanding of the health materials. Health literacy is more complex than I had originally thought and it is challenging to modify the educational materials for the specific target audience. Strategic planning is necessary to ensure adequate learning for the special needs of the audience. I have learned that one must assess the audience’s psychological, social, developmental, and cultural influences prior to developing the educational material.

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).

According to Singleton and Krause (2010), health literacy can be defined as “the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions” (p.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2015), health literacy affects each and every one of us every time we interact with any piece of health information. The last national survey administered to measure health literacy was done in 2003 via the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, and they measured individuals’ health literacy within three domains: clinical, prevention, and navigation of the health care system. This is important, because it reflects Singleton and Krause’s (2011) report that health literacy affects more than just an individual’s ability to understand their physician. In order to perform well in each domain, respondents would need to familiarity with basic health vocabulary, be able to read common health information such as a prescription drug bottle, and would need to understand how the health system works (insurance, making appointments, etc.). The results of the 2003 survey showed that 53% of adults have intermediate health literacy, 12% have proficient health literacy, but 36% (77 million) have basic health literacy. The remaining 5% did not speak English (National Assessment of Adult

Health is the combination of your physical, mental/emotional, and social well being. Your personal level of health affects everything about you. It affects how you look, how you feel, even how you act. It is important to be aware that health is not a state of being. Being healthy does not mean that you will never be sick. Instead, being healthy means being the best you can be at any given time. It is important to understand health information that can be useful to you, and others.

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

Unfortunately, low health literacy is very common in the United States. The factors that affect an individual’s literacy skills include age, education, language, and socioeconomic status. Individuals with lower income, limited education, minority populations, and the elderly are at very high risk of low health literacy and the poor health outcomes associated with it. It is evident that as people age their cognitive functions decline. As a result, the majority of the elderly population is unaware or

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

Individuals who display a greater level of health literacy do reflect significantly higher health levels and wellbeing. Moreover, those individuals who engage in a more weaker health regimen of health behavior and show a lower level of health literacy usually have a poorer level of overall health (Kickbusch, 2001). Individuals who reflect a poor level of health literacy may also have a more arduous time communicating with providers, locating medical services, and utilizing the needed self-care instructions necessary to maintain their proper wellbeing. Furthermore, any low literacy deficiency can ultimately lead to a series of adverse health outcomes, such as longer hospitalization stays, an insufficient measure of preventative care, low health status, as well as a higher mortality rate (Green, Gonzaga, Cohen & Spagnoletti,

Before working together with Denis the nursing professionals also assessed Denis’s current mental state, presentation and behaviours so that they could know or determine his level of understanding or health literacy. The report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) (2004, cited in Parker and Kindig, 2006, p. 891) defined 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 decisions.” The World Health Organisation (2015, p. 1) defines health literacy as “the cognitive and social skills which find the motivation and ability of people to gain access to, understand and use information in ways which promote and keep up good health.”

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 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.