The Medical Library Association ( Mla ) And Groups Of Environmental Health

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 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

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2008). America's Health Literacy: Why We Need Accessible Health Information. Retrieved from https://health.gov/communication/literacy/issuebrief/

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

Having a healthy population is becoming increasingly important across Australian communities (Baur, 2011). Health literacy is the cognitive and social skills, which enables and establishes the ability of individuals to gain access and comprehend the use of information, in ways that maintain and promote good

Decreased education increases participation in such activities as smoking, alcohol consumption and illicit drug use. It also results in medication misuse. Overall, studies have noted that health literacy creates significantly improved outcomes in terms of prevention and disease management. Health literacy is an important aspect to consider in terms of future policies since research has indicated that almost fifty percent of the Canadian population has inadequate health literacy. By cultivating health literacy and education, this can solve the disparities found within the Canadian healthcare system (Yamashita., Bailer & Noe,

The concept of health literacy was first originated in early years and it was recognised as an autonomous research field in 1990s (Andrew pleasant and Shyama Kuruvilla, 2008). The

It also, call health, education and digital technology the three divides in our communities. Most health professions have been concern with how to education the patients on understanding their health needs. The determinates that are seen is income and education when it comes to the patients. The author gives background information on the different literacy she uses while doing the research. Futhermore, the author gives examples of how health literacy is measured in a population. Finally, she shows how health literacy can empower the patients when it comes to their health. Too show how important educating the patient on all of their healthcare needs and what their health insurance provide for them.

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

Mitic and Rootman (2012), discuss six reasons why health literacy is important. First, approximately 60% of Canadians are unable to understand and make decisions regarding their health. Second, having a lack of health literacy can lead to having poor health outcomes. For example, if a person does not fully understand their chronic disease, such as diabetes, they may not have the proper self-management skills to cope with the disease which could potentially result in hospitalization. The second reason goes hand-in-hand with the third reason of increasing rates of chronic diseases. With a lack of understanding, people may not know how to prevent or manage the chronic disease causing it to escalate to something more serious and may result in death. Low health literacy can also lead to extra costs spent on health care. Mitic and Rootman (2012), state that the additional expenses “ranged from 3 to 5% of the total health care cost per year”. This is due to people having a lack of understanding and require more health care attention than someone who has a higher health literacy. Also, with the advances of access to health information, the terminology used is often high-level and hard for most people

Healthcare is changing every day with the intention to improve and enhance quality care to patients and the community. The ability to understand and act on health information is one of the main issue in healthcare today. A professional nurse is required to provide care and information for patients and their families. Patient and families have the right to able to understand medical information which would empower them to make informed decisions about their care (Lambert et al. 2013). Improving Health Literacy in healthcare settings allows greater understanding of information and knowledge which would improve patient care. Being health literate is not only about reading and learning but is about understanding health information and

Health literacy is a concept in the field of health promotion that is given considerable attention in order to change and improve health behaviour. It is a key outcome from health education. However, this misses much of the deeper meaning and purpose of health literacy for people and what health literacy particularly encompasses. According to who, “Health literacy builds on the idea that both health and literacy are critical resources for everyday living (pg. 4). Health literacy has three dimensions relating to the curriculum area of Health and Physical Education. The three key approaches to health literacy are functional, interactive and critical. Functional health literacy refers to “the basic skills in reading and writing that are necessary

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