50+ Lifestyles

Did you know that regardless of age, income and education level most Americans are still illiterate? Health illiterate that is…

By Marie A. Wisely
Choice Home Health Care Inc., CPHQ-Agency Administrator

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.” Health literacy is dependent on several factors: communication skills of the health professional and the patient’s knowledge of the health topics. Poor health literacy can make navigating the health system, engaging in disease management and understanding concepts such as probability and risk and medication dosing difficult.

In addition to basic literacy skills, health literacy requires knowledge of health topics and the human body. Health information can be overwhelming, medical science and technologies progress rapidly. What people learned about health or biology during their school years often becomes outdated or forgotten, or it is incomplete. Additionally, health information provided in a stressful or unfamiliar situation is unlikely to be retained.

Traditionally, we have relied on our medical professionals to provide us with the information we need to self-manage our health issues, and there is a vast divide between the knowledge a health professional has and a lay person. People with limited health literacy often lack knowledge or have misinformation about the body, as well as the nature and causes of disease. Without this knowledge, they may not understand the relationship between lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise and various health outcomes.

Patients of any age income level or education level would be well served to come prepared to talk to their health care providers. A national patient safety initiative called “Ask me 3” was created to aid patients in getting the most out of their medical appointment. It was designed to improve communication between patients and health care providers, encourage patients to become active members of their health care team, and promote improved health outcomes. The program encourages patients to ask their health care providers three questions:

1.  What is my main problem?
2.  What do I need to do?
3.  Why is it important for me to do this?

Clear communication is the foundation for patients to be able to understand and act on health information. People who understand their treatment plans and self-management requirements get well sooner and are be able to better manage a chronic health condition .

For more information on “Ask Me 3” and health literacy please visit http://www.npsf.org/?page=askme3.

References:
http://www.health.gov/communication/literacy/quickguide/factsbasic.htm
http://www.npsf.org/?page=askme3

Marie A. Wisely is CPHQ-Agency Adminstrator at Choice Home Health Care, Inc., 2882 AAA Court, Bettendorf, Iowa. For more information, call (563) 345-6530 or visit their website at www.choicehhc.com.