Nursing

P.R. is a 34 year-old male from Guatemala who went to a lake for cliff diving. He dove off of a cliff 20 feet from the water, hitting a rock, and fractured his neck at C6. This left P.R. as an incomplete quadriplegic, with partial gross movement of his upper arms. P.R. is able to move his shoulders to slightly lift his arms, but has no movements in his legs or the trunk. P.R. requires total assistance for all activities of daily living, and is incontinent of both bowel and bladder function. He speaks primarily Spanish and cannot communicate in English. He is verbally abusive and becomes combative with care givers. He does not have family support in America and is having difficulty adapting to American foods. P.R. has

In 2003 The United States Department of Education completed the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) and for the first and only time, so far, it also included items to measure the Health literacy level of adults in the U.S. This assessment intended to measure the capacity of adult individuals to sucessfully comprehend the healthcare system, basic understanding of medical conditions and all knowledge related to interaction with providers, medication management and basic knowledge on preventive measures. The results of the assessment were classified among other items by gender, race and ethnicity, language, age, level of education and poverty threshold (Kutner et al., 2006) but what is this concept and how is this related to us as nurses?

Low literacy affects many individuals within today’s society. The amount of individuals that are unable to comprehend medication labels, medication regimens, and learning points from discharge teaching is shocking and result in further health related injuries (Koh et al., 2012). Nurses must take the important task of recognizing an individual literacy and comprehension ability before planning the individual’s care plan. The nurse must find out the ways an individual can receive information that

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

Sequist, Cullen, and Acton explain, “American Indians have nearly three times the national unemployment rate, and are less than half as likely to graduate from college” (2011, pp. 1967). With the low education levels that are common amongst this racial group, health care facilities need to make sure they are providing materials and teachings with appropriate fundamental literacy levels. In the book Advancing Health Literacy written by Zarcadoolas, Pleasant, and Greer, the authors describe fundamental literacy as, “The ability to read, write, speak, and work with numbers” (2006, pp. 56-57). As nurses, we need to be aware of others’ fundamental literacy to provide them with a sense of autonomy. If they are able to understand the materials they are reading, then they are able to make confident decisions about their care. In the nursing field, we provide many informational brochures, and are responsible for making sure our patients understand the plan of care. The text provided for our clients should be at an eighth-grade level, or personalized to each patient’s level. Nurses need to make sure they are conversing and explaining with no medical jargon, and allowing time for questions from the

The State of the Union speech was spoken very well by President Obama and has impacted me in many ways. The first thing that caught my attention was when Obama talked about the war in Iraq. As a six years veteran, I have seen a lot of my friends come back with extreme levels of mental and physical pain. Obama addressed that in nine years of the war, for the first time there is no military personnel fighting in Iraq. Another issue the President menschen about the war in the Middle East, was the death of Osama Bin Laden. The President told everyone that Osama Bin Laden is no longer a threat to the United Sates. Finding Bin Laden and being able to capture and kill him seem like an

Outlines are patient and consideration supplier training and direction results, clinical recuperation framework, self improvement gatherings and gathering wellbeing and wellness results. In addition, wellbeing and wellness promoting undertakings, for example, enhancing and spurring work-related and security techniques in restorative focuses and playing staff wellbeing and wellness framework are considered to a great degree significant. All samples in the three productions examined, Nurses serve as champions for these people with whom they interact with including different specialists. Attendants impact these people demonstrating their movements and conduct. In light of what one watched, it is straightforward that the part displaying capacity is of essential vitality (Verlag, 2010).

Health literacy skills are very necessary for people who are in the need of health information; for example, patients. Health literacy is very essential to find information and services provided by the health care providers. It is very necessary in patients for communication with the health care professionals to express their needs, preferences and also to respond to their services and treatment. It is needed to understand the treatment plan and the risks associated with it. It is helpful in processing the information provided by the healthcare professional and decision making based on that information on what treatment action meets their requirements and

Lambert, V., & Keogh, D. (2014). Health literacy and its importance for effective communication. Part 2. Nursing Children & Young People, 26(4), 32-36. doi:10.7748/ncyp2014.05.26.4.32.e387http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.devry.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=2012573600&site=ehost-live

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 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

Nurses must assess a patient’s communication needs with respect to their age, gender, culture, developmental status and be able to modify their care related to these needs. This also is a consideration when communicating with those around us daily.

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