Health Literacy Skills

Health literacy has been accepted a keystone for health care services. Health literacy can be defined as “the prescription to end the confusion” or a “degree by which a person can develop the capability to understand the fundamental health related information and services in order to make proper health decision”. Health and social care professionals should consider influences of cultural and conceptual knowledge in health-related practices (Lehmann & Abel, 2016). The concept of health literacy is not limited in the practice of health and social care professionals. It also involves awareness of lay person in accessing and utilizing health care services available for them.

Health Literacy is lacking not only in the less education patients but it also lacks in people who can read and write well. This is because day-to-day reading and writing skills are different from the health care related reading and writing skills. There might be many reasons like: people are not exposed to the medical terms, they might not know how to read the statistics and evaluate the documents based on those statistics. They might be in a shock or be

All clients possess a degree of health literacy, and like literacy, it is a human right. It is a client 's ability to understand written, spoken or numerical information, and make health care related decisions based on the information (Eadie, 2014). A client’s health literacy also has a social component, often being influenced by their socioeconomic status, immigration status and language

The definition of health literacy according to the US Department of Health and Human Services is the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions (USHHS, 2016).In their most recent study of 2003, the National Assessment of Adult Literacy indicates that 50 % of Americans have low literacy levels and that these numbers haven’t changed much since their previous study in 1992. Also in 2003, they conducted their first study on Health Literacy which had similar results. Health literacy can be dependent on individuals and systematic factors such as the degree of communication skills presented by the person or professional, knowledge of health topics, culture, demands of healthcare or public health system and

The topic of health literacy seems to be a new topic on the scene. It does not seem to be talked about frequently in the social work field, let alone in every day conversation. Lacking health literacy affects many populations, including military recruits and veterans. There are many different theories about how to motivate patients to improve their own health.

\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

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.

In addition to basic literacy skills, health literacy needs knowledge of health topics. People with low health literacy often don’t have

Health literacy is the ability to read, comprehend, and utilize healthcare information in order to make health related decisions based on the individual 's interpretation of this information (Eadie, 2014). This includes the individual 's ability to "perform Internet searches, reading health prevention pamphlets, measuring medication doses, and understanding and complying with verbal or written health care instructions" (Eadie, 2014, p. 10). These barriers significantly affect patient safety and require intervention from health care professionals. As we have learned in our previous theory courses, many individuals experience some form of limited health literacy; however, "the Institute of Medicine reports that 90 million American adults lack basic health literacy" (as cited in Eadie, 2014, p.10).

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).

We could indicate them to patients and their characteristics and proclivities and others to those of providers. For patients to engage effectively in shared decision making, they must have a certain degree of health literacy. Suppose that all patients are at risk of not understanding their health conditions or how to deal with them. Health care organizations adopting this model would work to increase health literacy and patient engagement over the entire care span. If health care organizations first adopt the Care Model, a mode of delivering health care that draws on clinical information systems, decision support, and self-management support to provide comprehensive care for patients. Then, health literacy strategies would be incorporated into the model, such as the teach-back method, in which providers ask patients to explain back to them what the patients have learned, their own understanding of their condition, the options available to them, and their intentions to act on the information. A patient’s degree of engagement may be affected by such factors as cultural differences, sex, age, and education, among others. As a result, specific competencies, such as language skills or an awareness and understanding of religious beliefs, may be required on the part of clinicians and delivery systems to effectively engage patients with diverse cultural backgrounds and socioeconomic status. There are well-known limitations to human decision-making skills and the ability to maintain attention that serve as barriers to patient engagement. They argue that there may be better ways to influence patients' decision making, in which decisions to be made are structured so as to direct a patient toward a particular

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

“It was estimated in 1998 that between $35-73 billion was wasted in prolonged hospital stays and frequent doctors visits related to low health literacy” (Ickes, MEd & Cottrell, DEd, CHES, 2010, p. 492). With all of the previously mentioned problems of poor health literacy, individuals who fall into these categories are also more likely to die at an early age.

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