Just what exactly is health literacy, anyway? Health literacy, in accordance with the National Institutes of Healths U.S. National Library of Medicine, describes how well people can find, navigate and understand the services and info they need to make good healthcare decisions. That is a complex process impacted by multiple components, including: access to clear info, - the research, communications and vocabulary skills of both healthcare providers and patients, - physical and emotional capabilities and factors like age, education, language and culture, and - the frequently overwhelmingly complicated structure of many healthcare and insurance systems. Just about everybody has been impacted by health literacy problems into a time or another.
Low health literacy negatively affects peoples capability to make good health decisions. Individuals with low health literacy end up in the hospital more frequently and have a tendency to have poorer overall health and higher death rates. Arkansas challenge - The proportion of individuals in Arkansas with low health literacy is 37 percent of the adult population, somewhat higher compared to the national average. Overall, this problem costs the state up to $3 billion every year. Lower health literacy consistently correlates with higher healthcare costs per person. Arkansas did a lot of good work, but we need to do more, said Dr.
Jennifer Dillaha, medical consultant for health literacy and medical director for immunization at Arkansas Department of Health. There are two ways for healthcare providers to approach health literacy. You might help improve peoples skills at getting info and utilizing the health system and knowing what they really need to do to take good care of their families. But you may approach it, too, from the health system viewpoint, of not setting things up in order that they are full of jargon and difficult for individuals to understand and navigate. Dillaha also serves on the National Academy of Medicines Round Table on Health Literacy, that provides evidence based advice and support to healthcare agencies, providers and organizations nationwide about how to use better teaching, communications and design techniques to improve health literacy. Then people may get that info and digest it, says Dillaha. If we may explain it in a manner that they can comprehend it, they may get it. Steps to take - As a patient or caregiver, there are also smart steps you may take.
