subject: Are You Health Literate? [print this page] Do you know your health? Can you interpret the healthcare information? Or to put it more precisely are you aware of health literacy? Health literacy can be described as a capability to read, comprehend and utilize healthcare to make decisions and follow instructions for treatment. Health literacy basically engages context and setting through which certain health literacy tools like media or internet facility can be claimed and thus the ability to deal with the situation can be managed and handles.
According to certain studies fifty percent of the patients cannot even understand the basic healthcare information. Thus minimal health literacy reduces the success of treatment and the risk of medical error. Simple information and demonstration, evading specific medical terminology, and educative methods that heartens the patients and clarifies his doubts may later leads to the enhancement in his health which rapid recovery than the patient with low health literacy. As per the survey about 26-60% of patients do not understand the medication instructions, or a normal informed assent or even the basic healthcare material.
In order to be a health literate and acquire proper health literacy one must undergo certain factors that are instrumental in gauging health literacy. The health literacy level requires health education material and other health interventions. The factors gauging health literacy includes reading level, numeracy level, language barriers, cultural appropriateness, format/style, sentence structure, use of illustrations, interactivity, etc All these factors are instrumental in understand and following the acquired health information.
Those who are unaware about health literacy are at the risk of hospitalization or more days to spend in hospital. These patients respond little towards the treatment and thus end to make errors while the medication process. On the contrary if the doctor's communication is appropriately jelled with the way the patient comprehends the medication process leads to minimization of the medication errors and medical outcomes. Be there more population or less, elderly or young people ethnic minorities or immigrants, person with high low or normal general literacy; the lack of health literacy affects all the segments and classes of the people. Public health literacy is not the only problems faced by masses in recent times. At times health professionals also lack health literacy skills which may lead to more confusion while explaining the health issues to patients
Health Literacy is one of the important elements widely responsible to our unobstructed and easy going life. Health literacy provides you the knowledge that enables you to take proper health care which blocks the illness and offers you a healthy life. Health literacy also enables you to cure rapidly by following proper instructions from the health care technicians.
