NURS 6412 week 4 Discussion Paper
Health Literacy
Health literacy is a term that is not widely understood by the public. It is defined as “the extent to which an individual has the ability to access, process, and understand the services necessary to prevent or treat basic health information and diseases necessary for making appropriate health decisions” (Health Literacy, 2014). The level of health literacy depends on age, educational background, sociology-economic status and cultural background. Patients with low health literacy are more difficult to navigate through health care systems.NURS 6412 week 4 Discussion Paper
Understanding the literacy rate and health literacy rate Understanding the literacy rate and health literacy rate is important to understanding the impact it has on health impacts of customers. In addition, the ability of nurses to better educate their clients is to understand these terms. Literacy is a dynamic and complex multilevel theme, in short, it is a collection of skills (Keefe & Copeland) such as reading and writing ability, speaking ability, computing power, ability to acquire knowledge and information.
Health literacy is defined as “ability to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services necessary for individuals to make appropriate health decisions.” Conditions encountered by professional communication skills and health system 6 These problems affect how people look for a doctor, how to read medical guidance, or how to take other health-related behaviors. In addition, we need to take these measures. Such action often requires a realistic understanding of health and illness. People with low health literacy often lack this knowledge.
Health literacy differs from literacy because it is the ability to understand health terms and apply that knowledge to healthcare (Mayer and Villaire, 2007). However, because people who can not read or write are difficult to understand terms of health, reading and writing ability plays a role in health literacy. When watching a movie about health literacy in the classroom, I can not help feeling uncomfortable when I meet an adult with junior high school literacy skills (Kalmbach, 2003). This makes me wonder how many people in this country are illiterate and how this plays a role in health care.NURS 6412 week 4 Discussion Paper
Health Literacy has been defined as the cognitive and social skills which determine the motivation and ability of individuals to gain access to, understand and use information in ways which promote and maintain good health. Health Literacy means more than being able to read pamphlets and successfully make appointments. By improving people’s access to health information and their capacity to use it effectively, health literacy is critical to empowerment.
Defined this way, Health Literacy goes beyond a narrow concept of health education and individual behavior-oriented communication, and addresses the environmental, political and social factors that determine health. Health education, in this more comprehensive understanding, aims to influence not only individual lifestyle decisions, but also raises awareness of the determinants of health, and encourages individual and collective actions which may lead to a modification of these determinants. Health education is achieved therefore, through methods that go beyond information diffusion and entail interaction, participation and critical analysis. Such health education leads to health literacy, leading to personal and social benefit, such as by enabling effective community action, and by contributing to the development of social capital.
This approach also recognizes the issue of power and how power relations affect access to information and its use, as has been seen in the case of promoting women’s sexual and reproductive health. Health Literacy promotes empowerment, which in turn is vital for achieving the internationally agreed health and development goals as well as the emerging threats such as from the pandemic influenza, climate change and non-communicable diseases. NURS 6412 week 4 Discussion Paper
This track will closely examine the issues involved in achieving health literacy in this comprehensive sense, and identify strategic actions needed to lead the way forward. It will examine the role of other sectors in contributing to health literacy, and consider advocacy with and strategic alliances with the education sector – and at all levels, international, national and local – to achieve this. Recognizing that health literacy requires more than the transmission of information, it will explore the latest developments in participatory approaches to determine how people can develop the skills, knowledge and efficacy to act on that knowledge in order to maintain good health. It will reveal how such actions are needed in developed as well low- and middle-income countries.NURS 6412 week 4 Discussion Paper