Why Do Hispanics Use Internet Health Information?

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 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

Limited access to health care for Spanish Speaking populations is due to inability to afford services, difficulty with transportation, dissatisfaction with services, language barriers and inability to understand treatment plans. Health indicators of Spanish Speaking populations suggests that health outcomes continue to be behind other population groups, they also remain below goals established by Healthy People 2010 (Butler, Kim-Godwwin, & Fox, 2008). The US Spanish Speaking population represents a particular vulnerable subset of US Hispanics that have lower-income, less education, poor perceived health status and poor access to the health care System (Dubar & Gizlice, 2008).

Iannotta, Joah G. Emerging Issues in Hispanic Health: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, D.C.: National Academies, 2002. Print.

Education of patients and families regarding the reliability of internet information is prudent. Given the enormous amount of information available via the World Wide Web, not all of which, as you illustrate, is reliable, it is of great importance that patients and families comprehend the unreliability of some of the information they may acquire. Patients who are unable to gain access to health care secondary to a lack of funds, insurance, or availability of their provider, may be inclined to review their symptoms utilizing a search engine. Moreover, patients who were incapable of accessing healthcare due to reasons other than a lack of insurance are more likely to utilize the internet to obtain health related

Low health literacy has negative health outcomes for many individuals impacted by the unattained health information and teaching that has not been established. Many low literacy individuals do not seek needed treatment due to the cost, unfamiliar location, and the foreign procedures that may occur. Individuals that suffer from low literacy are more prone to the development of chronic disease like diabetes, hypertension, and heart failure.

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

Since consumers are becoming more involved with their healthcare decisions, organizations and providers must adapt to consumer requisites and utilize independent resources to ensure the viability of their businesses. In 2008, a study reported that 81% of internet users and 66% of adults utilized online health information as a source for health related issues (Ha & Yun, 2011). Some examples of online health information resources comprised of search engines, organizational websites, and governmental agencies that participate in health related issues (Ha & Yun, 2011). By accessing health related information, consumers empower themselves with knowledge to assist in healthcare decisions and wellness management (Ha & Yun, 2011). As a result of consumers becoming better educated about healthcare, administrators must explore internet resources in order to maintain quality and services that is expected by consumers, and maintain the reputation of the organization.

The Hispanic community faces many challenges in America. One of the major health issues that affect this community is obesity. If not treated, obesity will eventually result in other chronic health problems like diabetes, hypertension and metabolic syndrome. Creating an environment that will foster healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle will enable this group to avoid diabetes or hypertension in the future. Managing existing diabetes is also critical for this at risk group to avoid the chronic problems that may arise form uncontrolled diabetes.

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.

The U.S. Census Bureau currently projects the U.S. population to increase from 319 million to 417 million people between 2014 and 2016.1 Currently, the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2014 National Projections Report has put an emphasis on the rapid growth of the American population due to two factors; change in age structure and the shift of racial and ethnic compositions of the population.1 With a significant growth in the American population, health disparities in regards to race, ethnicity, gender, income and geographical location have risen tremendously, further creating a gap of health literacy.4 This gap in health literacy has created many potential problems in adequate

The United States is a melting pot of ethnicity, in which, the healthcare system and its benefits vary widely. Those who are able to obtain primary care insurance via a full time employer, typically have the benefits of full coverage care. However, for many minority groups, full time work alone is hard to acquire, along with the health benefits full time employment provides. Culturally competent care among the diverse populations helps increase health promotion and gain a cultural perspective. One of these mentioned groups is the Hispanic population which is steadily increasing within the United States.

Health literacy is defined as "The degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions" (Michael K. Paasche-Orlow, 2010), the word Health literacy first appeared in 1974 in a paper which calls for “education standards for all grade school levels in USA” (Carolyn Speros, 2004) . Some recent works suggest that there is a relation between literacy, low health and premature deaths (Christina Zarcadoolas et al, 2005).

Health and medicine are important for a society to run smoothly. The internet can be very dangerous. First of all, one does not know who is putting this information on the internet and many illnesses have similar symptoms but need different treatments. It is not always easy to decide what is reliable. 80% of internet users go online to find health related information. Many people rely and trust the internet which makes them sicker. When one is unhealthy, it leads to them not being able to perform their role in society and become exempt from normal obligations. Doctors play a vital role in keeping people healthy and productive in our society. People tend to believe what they read on the internet. But as we have learned