Health Literacy

Week 10

Sitting in front of a computer doing research, reading a book, understanding what the doctor told you or being able to pass an aptitude test are some things a lot of us take for granted. But what if English wasn't your first language, you never grew up using a computer or you never got to finish school? How well could you navigate the world and understand it to its full potential? Health literacy is the cognitive and social skills that allows people to  understand and use information in a way that improves and maintains their health. Health literacy is more than being able to read pamphlets and make appointments, it's about improving people's access to health information and then for them to be able to effectively use that information for the better (World Health Organisation (WHO), 2014, para. 1). 

An example of being able to use information would be with obesity. People generally know that to lose weight and be healthy they need to exercise and eat healthy foods (National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute [NIH], 2012). If they are unable to read packaging, understand nutritional panels on foods or do not know where gyms and fitness groups are, then they are not going to be able to improve their health. It's the same with medications and health care, if they don't understand the doctor or the medications they may not take them and therefore their health can't improve. To make sure patients are getting the most from their health care you need to be sure that they are understanding what is needed of them and how to put the information into practice. Making sure they understand may require getting them to tell you in their own words what they have to do, have a family member come with them to explain or just spend that extra time explaining in layman's terms. Being a nurse often means going back over things that the doctor has said as often people will nod and agree but not actually be clear on their treatment or illness. 

References

World Health Organisation (WHO). (2014). Track 2: Health literacy and health behaviour. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/healthpromotion/conferences/7gchp/track2/en/

National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NIH). (2012). How are overweight and obesity treated?. Retrieved from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/obe/treatment