Sunday, November 4, 2012

Health Literacy



Understanding patient health literacy is an essential part of our daily practice. Harrington (2012) published an article about improving health literacy. Immediately following the teaching of medical information during a healthcare encounter, 40%-80% of the information is forgotten (Harrington, 2012). Limited health literacy leads to poorer health status and quality of life, difficulty taking medications correctly, increased rates of hospitalizations, lower immunization rates, decreased health knowledge, and shorter life spans. The article discusses the importance of forming relationships with patients, and active listening. Through these methods mutual trust is built, inspiring patients to participate in their care. Understanding personal needs and motivations for change lead to relevant treatment plans. The article discusses improving health literacy through the following resources for providers:


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website offers insights about moms, teens, tweens, baby boomers, older generations, and the Hispanic cultural. These resources describe insights into the patient population, facts about the group, targeted health communication, lifestyle trends, top concerns, health-related concerns, health behaviors and attitudes, media habits, and interests and hobbies. The information is helpful to improve communication between the provider and the patient population groups listed.


The public health foundation offers a free, 5 CEU credit course titled Effective Communication Tools for Healthcare Professionals 101. This is a self-paced course that teaches providers how to manage cultural barriers, bridge knowledge gaps, and correctly use tools for low English proficiency patients.

An additional website specific to Arizona:

Health Literacy of Arizona offers data, publications, training resources, assessment tools, patient resources, and techniques that can be used to improve health literacy and communication between providers and patients.

References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC]. (2012). Gateway to health communication & social marketing practice. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/healthcommunication/Audience/index.html

Harrington, C. C. (2012). How can you improve health literacy? Advance for NPs & PAs, 3(10), 15. Retrieved from www.advanceweb.com/NPPA

Health Literacy Arizona. (2011). Health literacy. Retrieved from http://healthliteracy.pharmacy.arizona.edu/index.html

Public Health Foundation. (2012). Effective communication tools for healthcare professionals 101 (with continuing education credits). Retrieved from https://www.train.org/DesktopModules/eLearning/CourseDetails/CourseDetailsForm.aspx?tabid=62&CourseID=1010510

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