The Importance Of Health Literacy

From Baker’s study on health literacy (2006), it depicted the health literacy as active and dynamic status which gives the consumers the essential abilities to act effectively within the healthcare system. The patient’s levels of health literacy would vary related on different circumstances whether it is relied on the health professionals at the medical procedure, the shared information that contains the type of medical diagnosis of the patient and the signs and symptoms of medical condition that patient may experience.

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 empowers individuals with knowledge and understanding regarding health information enabling them to make informed decisions about their health care. Health literacy affects people of all ages, race and ethnicity, education levels, income and languages spoken. All individuals deserve the right to have access to accurate, easy to understand, reliable, valid information to make informed decisions about their healthcare. According to Baur (2011), Health literacy is the extent in which individuals acquire, assimilate and comprehend health information and services to make informed health decisions. This has become a public health mission in the Healthy People agenda of 2010 and 2020 (Baur, 2011, p.63).

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

Literacy is the ability to read and write, and it is based on different competency of individuals. Health literacy is a term that has been used in health literature for more than 35 years. In the United States, health literacy is used to explicate and describe the correlation between patient literacy levels and their ability to adhere with prescribed therapeutic regimens (Ad Hoc Committee on Health Literacy, 1999). Likewise, health literacy is also defined as the grade to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions (IOM, 2004) (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], 2000). Health literacy is also influenced by individual literacy skills and individual capacities (Baker, Gazmararian, Sudano & Patterson, 2000). This study is important due to the high number of patients with difficulty interpreting and understanding common prescription drug labelled instructions. It can be inferred that

These special education children have now added to the economic burden of CVD (Zazove & Doukas, 1994). Health literacy plays a major issue (Baker, 2006) in the DHOH population, as the huge cost on the economy health expenditures is relevant to low health literacy (Laureate Education, Inc, 2011). Health literacy is a term used to define the ability to act upon medical or health information independently (Laureate Education, Inc, 2011). Likewise, the ability to completely complete demographic forms, commitment to follow up appointments, comprehend basic medical procedure, and medication compliance are signs of a person with health literacy (Laureate Education, Inc, 2011). According to CDC (2011), " the degree to which an individual can obtain, communicate, process, and understand basic health information and services to make appropriate health decisions" (p. 1). Therefore, the potential health consequence of low health literacy as it associates with CVD, apart from an increase chance of accidental death, is the rise in hospitalizations (Andrus & Roth, 2002). An increase in hospitalization increases the chance of miscommunication, barriers in cultural gaps contrition, and insufficient interpreter translations, among patients and doctors. Two decades of attention in the health care accessibility rights of DHOH

What if every other person that received help from a healthcare provider left the health facility and did not comply with anything the provider told them? The patient did not take the medication as directed, if at all, did not follow-up in 2 weeks to ensure adequate treatment and never improved, or did not care for their surgical wound, leading them to being hospitalized for sepsis. What is the point in going to seek help, if the patient is not going to do what it takes to improve? As emphasized in the American Medical Association (AMA) video, nearly one-half of Americans do not have the skills to overcome the barriers to health literacy (2010). “Health literacy is the ability to read, understand, and act on health information.” (AMA, 2010) Taking this into consideration, who is to blame, the patient who did nothing the provider told them to, or the provider who did not ensure understanding of the information given to the patient nor emphasize the importance of compliance and risks? Patients do not visit healthcare facilities to cause themselves more confusion and continued suffering, they are seeking advice and assistance, trusting that the provider will be able to deliver care in the most appropriate manner no matter the circumstances. Although many of these health literacy barriers are out of the provider’s control, such as the inability to read or memory impairment, this does not denote that there are not many ways to overcome

“Health Literacy” a term to define literacy in healthcare. “An estimated 90 million people in the U.S. have difficulties understanding and using health information” (Hawkins, Kantayya and Sharkey-Asner, 2010). Low health literacy poses public health risks due to groups of people not being able to adequately care for themselves and stay healthy. This paper argues the importance of literacy as it pertains to health and also explores the various types of literacy that can impact how health information is received and understood from the general public.

Literacy is not just the ability to read a book or write your own name, it is a more complex problem that an astounding part of the American population faces. According to the National Adult Literacy Survey of 1993 (NALS), which measures literacy levels in three ways: prose literacy, document literacy, and quantitative literacy, 27 percent of people that took this literacy test have a level 2 literacy level; on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being literate (Perez & Luquis, 2014). Consequently, these levels indicate less than a seventh grade education. Today’s information and technological society proves daunting for even the most literate of people who face problems dealing with our health care system. Providing critical

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

It can be a challenge to make a change in the health literacy of our patients I think with time it will make a difference. Health care professionals may not see the change now but with the availability of the internet and tele health, more people are getting exposed. The main problem is getting everyone to be literate that is able to read and write at least up to high school level. This has a huge part to play in health literacy.

Literacy is the ability someone has to read and write. Most of us are taught this skill when we are young. Those of us who learn this during childhood seem to forget this is a privilege not everybody has. The people who do not has this advantage are affected in more ways than we think. Especially when it comes to their health, this understanding is known as health literacy. “Health literacy 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” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2000). One of the major populations affected by their decline in health literacy is the elderly. Some of the factors influencing health literacy include age, reading skills and health beliefs. Inadequate health literacy is associated with increasing health disparities and poor use of health care services which lead to poor health outcomes, unsuccessful self-care and among elderly persons, poor overall health status and high mortality rates.