Poor Health Literacy Meaning

However in healthy people 2030 external icon the u s.

Poor health literacy meaning. The two sets of chart were crosschecked and eventually amalgamated. Which contribute to poor health high risk of mortality insufficient and ineffective use of healthcare increased costs and health. Health care professionals doctors nurses public health workers can also have poor health literacy skills such as a reduced ability to clearly explain health issues to patients and the public.

Improving and measuring health literacy both strengths and needs is particularly important in poorer areas such that vulnerable populations are empowered to engage in early and sustained health promoting actions whether to prevent acute and chronic conditions or to promote active and curative treatments. We now recognize that health literacy is a systems issue rudd 2010 reflecting the complexity of both the presentation of health information and navigation of the health care system. Low health literacy affects patient outcomes and health care costs.

Low health literacy was once viewed as an individual patient s deficit that is a patient s lack of knowledge and skills regarding health issues. The patient protection and affordable care act of 2010 title v defines health literacy as the degree to which an individual has the capacity to obtain communicate process and understand basic health information and services to make appropriate health decisions. Department of health and human services hhs updated the definition to include personal.

In many cases poor health literacy is a stronger predictor of health than age income employment status education level and race 3 patients with poor health literacy are also more likely to make medication errors have excess hospitalizations longer hospital stays and make more emergency room visits. This is also the definition that was included in healthy people 2010 and 2020. Health literacy is the person s ability to process understand and deal with the basic health related information by the right way to make the appropriate health decisions services usd of h and h 2010.

How low health literacy affects patients. They are less able to follow treatment instructions less successful navigating the health care system and at higher risk for hospitalization. Constructs and meaning of health literacy 5 19 two of the authors extracted data independently.

Health literacy as a term first proposed in the 1970s 1 generally concerns whether an individual is competent with the complex demands of promoting and maintaining health in the modern society 2 over the past two decades increasing attention has been attached to the concept due to its significant benefits to individual and public health and the sustainability of healthcare. Health literacy skills are not only a problem in the general population. Health literacy is considered one of the basics that affect patients understanding of the health related instructions parker 2007.