Summary: Improving Health Literacy

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

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

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

Singleton, K., & Krause, E. (2009). Understanding Cultural and Linguistic Barriers to Health Literacy. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 4(3), Retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org/mainmenucategories/anamarketplace/anaperiodicals/ojin/tableofcontents/vol142009/no3sept09/cultural-and-linguist

The primary focus of the study by Britigan et al (2009), entitled A Qualitative Study Examining Latino Functional Health Literacy Levels and Sources of Health Information, is designed to measure the degree to which selected Latino populations have access to and utilize available health information resources.

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

Provides bilingual in-home health education on chronic disease, patient support, and advocacy for uninsured Durham residents.

Nurse leaders can partner with the local government, churches, schools and community groups to create programs that reduce health disparities. For example, a program geared towards promoting wellness and a healthy lifestyle in the community will be beneficial for all, including the uninsured minority groups. As a nurse practitioner, my plan would be to create a program to bridge the gap in care of the uninsured elderly immigrants, specifically those with diabetes in the city of Jacksonville. Research has shown that “ focusing on wellness and education programs as an approach for increasing the peoples’ understanding in making the connection between health status and lifestyle decreased mortality and morbidity rates in minorities

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 fact that I am cautious about the increase of Spanish speakers, in America, I realized becoming bilingual will soon be a necessary tool for a physician. This research project, will help me determine how effective bilingual physicians are in caring, learning, adapting, and accessing diverse

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

To manage health, individuals need to understand the health care system according to Understanding health literacy (2012). This includes some basic skills like filling out forms and finding the right doctor, understanding medical instructions such as how to take medicine which comes down to being able to take care of themselves and in many cases they need to take care of others whether it’s doing things like monitoring blood pressure, reading food labels or making decisions about medical tests (Health Literacy Basics, n.d.). It is not really about being able to read health information but it’s all about understanding that information and being able to take action.

The Osgood & Schramm Circular Model will be used by the registered nurses as they work in a public health clinic setting for a five month period with adult Latino limited English proficiency patients using the Pilot wireless language translator app with earbuds to develop greater confidence and competence