Health literacy is the ability to obtain, read, understand, and use healthcare information in order to make appropriate health decisions and follow instructions for treatment. There are multiple definitions of health literacy, in part, because health literacy involves both the context (or setting) in which health literacy demands are made (e.g., health care, media, internet or fitness facility) and the skills that people bring to that situation (Rudd, Moeykens, & Colton, 1999). Studies reveal that only 12 percent of the adults in the U.S. have proficient health literacy. This means 77 million adults have basic or below basic health literacy. These individuals have difficulty with common health tasks including reading the label of a prescribed drug. Low health literacy reduces the success of treatment and increases the risk of medical error. Health literacy is essential to promote healthy individuals and communities.
Various interventions, such as simplifying information and illustrations, avoiding jargon, using "teach-back" methods, and encouraging patients' questions, have improved health behaviors in persons with low health literacy. Since health literacy is a primary contributing factor to health disparities, it is a continued and increasing concern for health professionals. The proportion of adults aged 18 and over in the U.S., in the year 2010, who reported that their health care providers always explained things so they could understand them was about 60.6%. This number increased 1% from 2007 to 2010. The Healthy People 2020 initiative of the United States Department of Health and Human Services has included health literacy as a pressing new topic, with objectives for improving it in the decade to come.
Society as a whole is responsible for improving health literacy. Most importantly, improving health literacy is the responsibility of healthcare and public health professionals and systems.
Video Health literacy
Characteristics
Plain language
In order to have a population that understands health terms and can make proper health decisions, the language used by health professionals has to be at a level that others who are not in the medical field can understand. Health professionals must know their audience in order to better serve their patient. The language used by these professionals should be plain language. Plain language is a strategy for making written and oral information easier to understand; it is communication that users can understand the first time they read or hear it.
Some key elements of plain language include:
- Organizing information so most important points come first
- Breaking complex information into understandable chunks
- Using simple language and defining technical terms
- Using active voice
- Using lists and tables to make complex material easier to understand
If health practitioners use plain language and ask their patients to teach back what they were told, individuals will be better able to take action to protect their health and wellness and the health system will have better health outcomes.
Factors
Many factors determine the health literacy level of health education materials or interventions: readability of the text, the patient's current state of health, language barriers of the patient, cultural appropriateness of the materials, format and style, sentence structure, use of illustrations, interactiveness of the intervention, and numerous other factors.
A study of 2,600 patients conducted in 1995 by two US hospitals found that between 26% and 60% of patients could not understand medication directions, a standard informed consent form, or materials about scheduling an appointment.
Maps Health literacy
History
The young and multidisciplinary field of health literacy emerged from two groups of experts: physicians, health providers, and health educators in the medical field; and Adult Basic Education (ABE) and English as a second language (ESL) practitioners in the field of education. Physicians are a source of groundbreaking patient comprehension and compliance studies. Adult Basic Education / English for Speakers of Languages Other Than English (ABE/ESOL) specialists study and design interventions to help people develop reading, writing, and conversation skills and increasingly infuse curricula with health information to promote better health literacy. A range of approaches to adult education brings health literacy skills to people in traditional classroom settings, as well as where they work and live.
Biomedical approach
The biomedical approach to health literacy that became dominant (in the U.S.) during the 1980s and 1990s often depicted individuals as lacking health literacy or "suffering" from low health literacy. This approach assumed that recipients are passive in their possession and reception of health literacy and believed that models of literacy and health literacy are politically neutral and universally applicable. This approach is found lacking when placed in the context of broader ecological, critical, and cultural approaches to health. This approach has produced, and continues to reproduce, numerous correlational studies.
Level of health literacy is considered adequate when the population has sufficient knowledge, skills, and confidence to guide their own health, and people are able to stay healthy, recover from illness, and/or live with disability or disease.
McMurray states that health literacy is important in a community because it addresses health inequities. It is no coincidence that individuals with lower levels of health literacy live, disproportionally, in communities with lower socio-economic standing. A barrier to achieving adequate health literacy for these individuals is a lack of awareness, or understanding of, information and resources relevant to improving their health. This knowledge gap arises from both patients being unable to understand information presented to them and hospitals' inadequate efforts and materials to address these literacy gaps.
A more robust view of health literacy includes the ability to understand scientific concepts, content, and health research; skills in spoken, written, and online communication; critical interpretation of mass media messages; navigating complex systems of health care and governance; knowledge and use of community capital and resources; and using cultural and indigenous knowledge in health decision making (Nutbeam, 2000; Ratzan, 2001; Zarcadoolas, Pleasant, & Greer, 2002). This integrative view sees health literacy as a social determinant of health that offers a powerful opportunity to reduce inequities in health.
This perspective defines health literacy as the wide range of skills, and competencies that people develop over their lifetimes to seek out, comprehend, evaluate, and use health information and concepts to make informed choices, reduce health risks, and increase quality of life (Zarcadoolas, Pleasant, & Greer, 2006). While various definitions vary in wording, they all fall within this conceptual framework.
Defining health literacy in that manner builds the foundation for a multi-dimensional model of health literacy built around four central domains:
- fundamental literacy,
- scientific literacy,
- civic literacy, and
- cultural literacy.
There are several tests, which have verified reliability in the academic literature that can be administered in order to test one's health literacy. Some of these tests include the Medical Term Recognition Test (METER), which was developed in the United States (2 minute administration time) for the clinical setting. The METER includes many words from the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM) test. The Short Assessment of Health Literacy in Spanish and English populations (SAHL-S&E) uses word recognition and multiple choice questions to test a person's comprehension. The CHC-Test measures Critical Health Competencies and consists of 72 items designed to test a person's understanding of medical concepts, literature searching, basic statistics, and design of experiments and samples.
Patient safety and outcomes
According to an Institute of Medicine (2004) report, low health literacy negatively affects the treatment outcome and safety of care delivery. The lack of health literacy affects all segments of the population. However, it is disproportionate in certain demographic groups, such as the elderly, ethnic minorities, recent immigrants, and persons with low general literacy. These populations have a higher risk of hospitalization, longer hospital stays, are less likely to comply with treatment, are more likely to make errors with medication, and are more ill when they initially seek medical care.
The mismatch between a clinician's communication of content and a patient's ability to understand that content can lead to medication errors and adverse medical outcomes. Health literacy skills are not only a problem in the general population. 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. In addition to tailoring the content of what health professionals communicate to their patients, a well arranged layout, pertinent illustrations, and intuitive format of written materials can improve the usability of health care literature. This in turn can help in effective communication between healthcare providers and their patients.
Risk identification
Identifying a patient as having low health literacy is essential for a healthcare professional to conform their health intervention in a way that the patient will understand. When patients with low health literacy receive care that is tailored to their more limited medical knowledge base, results have shown that health behaviors drastically improve. This has been seen with: correct medication use and dosage, utilizing health screenings, as well as increased exercise and smoking cessation. Effective visual aids have shown to help supplement the information communicated by the doctor in the office. In particular, easily readable brochures and videos have shown to be very effective. Healthcare professionals can use many methods to attain patients' health literacy. A multitude of tests used during research studies and three minute assessments commonly used in doctors offices are examples of the variety of tests healthcare professionals can use to better understand their patients' health literacy.
The American Medical Association showed that asking simple single item questions, such as "How confident are you in filling out medical forms by yourself?", is a very effective and direct way to understand from a patient's point of view how they feel about interacting with their healthcare provider and understanding their health condition.
Intervention
In order to be understood by patients with insufficient health literacy, health professionals must intervene to provide clear and concise information that can be more easily understood. Avoidance of medical jargon, illustrations of important concepts, and confirming information by a "teach back" method have shown to be effective tools to communicating essential health topics with health illiterate patients. A program called "Ask Me 3" is designed to bring public and physician attention to this issue, by letting patients know that they should ask three questions each time they talk to a doctor, nurse, or pharmacist:
- What is my main problem?
- What do I need to do?
- Why is it important for me to do this?
There have also been large-scale efforts to improve health literacy. For example, a public information program by the US Department of Health and Human Services encourages patients to improve healthcare quality and avoid errors by asking questions about health conditions and treatment. Additionally, the IROHLA (Intervention Research on Health Literacy of the Ageing population) project, funded by the European Union (EU), seeks to develop evidence-based guidelines for policy and practice to improve health literacy of the ageing population in EU member states. The project has developed a framework and identified and validated interventions which together constitute a comprehensive approach of addressing health literacy needs of the elderly.
Diabetes is a rapidly growing health problem among immigrants--affecting approximately 10 percent of Asian-Americans. It is the fifth-leading cause of death in Asian-Americans between the ages of 45 and 64. In addition, type 2 diabetes is the most common form of the disease. Those who are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes have high levels of blood glucose because the body does not effectively respond to insulin. It is a lifelong disease with no known cure. Diabetes is a chronic, debilitating, and costly social burden--costing healthcare systems about $100 billion annually.
Diabetes disproportionately affects underserved and ethnically diverse populations, such as Vietnamese-American communities. The relationship between the disease and health literacy level is in part because of an individual's ability to read English, evaluate blood glucose levels, and communicate with medical professionals. Other studies also suggest lack in knowledge of diabetes symptoms and complications. According to an observational cross-sectional study conducted, many Vietnamese-American diabetic patients show signs of poor blood glucose control and adherence due to inadequate self-management knowledge and experience. Diabetes health literacy research is needed to fully understand the burden of the chronic disease in Vietnamese-American communities, with respect to language and culture, health literacy, and immigrant status. Ethnic minority groups and immigrant communities have less knowledge of health promoting behavior, face considerable obstacles to health services, and experience poor communication with medical professionals. According to a recent review, studies have supported an independent relationship between literacy and knowledge of diabetes management and glucose control, but its impact on patients has not been sufficiently described. With the demand of chronic disease self-management (e.g., diabetic diet, glucose monitoring, etc.), a call for cultural-specific patient education is needed to achieve the control of diabetes and its adverse health outcomes in low- to middle-income Vietnamese-American immigrant communities.
eHealth literacy
eHealth literacy describes the relatively modern concept of an individual's ability to search for, successfully access, comprehend, and appraise desired health information from electronic sources and to then use such information to attempt to address a particular health problem. Due to the increasing influence of the internet for information-seeking and health information distribution purposes, eHealth literacy has become an important topic of research in recent years. Stellefson (2011) states, "8 out of 10 Internet users report that they have at least once looked online for health information, making it the third most popular Web activity next to checking email and using search engines in terms of activities that almost everybody has done." Though in recent years, individuals may have gained access to a multitude of health information via the Internet, access alone does not ensure that proper search skills and techniques are being used to find the most relevant online and electronic resources. As the line between a reputable medical source and an amateur opinion can often be blurred, the ability to differentiate between the two is important.
Health literacy requires a combination of several different literacy skills in order to facilitate eHealth promotion and care. Six core skills are delineated by an eHealth literacy model referred to as the Lily model. The Lily Model's six literacies are organized into two central types: analytic and context-specific. Analytic type literacies are those skills that can be applied to a broad range of sources, regardless of topic or content (i.e., skills that can also be applied to shopping or researching a term paper in addition to health) whereas context-specific skills are those that are contextualized within a specific problem domain (can solely be applied to health). The six literacies are listed below, the first three of the analytic type and the latter three of the context-specific:
- Traditional literacy
- Media literacy
- Information literacy
- Computer literacy
- Scientific literacy
- Health literacy
According to Norman (2006), both analytical and context-specific literacy skills are "required to fully engage with electronic health resources." As the World Wide Web and technological innovations are more and more becoming a part of the healthcare environment, it is important for information technology to be properly utilized to promote health and deliver health care effectively. Furthermore, it was argued by Hayat Brainin & Neter (2017), that digital media fosters the creation of interpersonal ties, that can supplement eHealth literacy. According to Hayat Brainin & Neter (2017), individuals with low eHealth literacy who were able to recruit help when performing online activities demonstrated higher health outcomes compared to similar individuals who did not find help.
It has been suggested that the move towards patient-centered care and the greater use of technology for self-care and self-management requires higher health literacy on the part of the patient.
Improvement
Incorporate information through the university level
The United States Department of Health and Human Services created a National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy. One of the goals of the National Action Plan is to incorporate health and science information in childcare and education through the university level. The target is to educate people at an early stage; that way individuals are raised with health literacy and will have a better quality of life. The earlier an individual is exposed to health literacy skills the better for the person and the community.
Programs such as Head Start and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) have impacted our society, especially the low income population. Head Start provides low-income children and their families early childhood education, nutrition, and health screenings. Health literacy is integrated in the program for both children and parents through the education given to the individuals. WIC serves low-income pregnant women and new mothers by supplying them with food, health care referrals, and nutrition education. Programs like these help improve the health literacy of both the parent and the child, creating a more knowledgeable community with health education.
Although programs like Head Start and WIC have been working with the health literacy of a specific population, much more can be done with the education of children and young adults. Now, more and more adolescents are getting involved with their health care. It is crucial to educate these individuals in order for them to make informed decisions.
Many schools in the country incorporate a health class in their curriculum. These classes provided an excellent opportunity to facilitate and develop health literacy in today's children and adolescents. The skills of how to read food labels, the meaning of common medical terms, the structure of the human body, and education on the most prevalent diseases in the United States should be taught in both private and public schools. This way new generations will grow with health literacy and would hopefully make knowledgeable health decisions.
Framework and potential intervention points
The National Library of Medicine defines health literacy as:
"The degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health literacy
information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions."
Based on this clinical definition, health literacy gives individuals the skills that they need to both understand and effectively communicate information and concerns. Bridging that gap between literacy skills and the ability of the individual in health contexts, the Health Literacy Framework highlights the health outcomes and costs associated with health contexts including cognitive abilities, social skills, emotional state, and physical conditions such as visual and auditory contributions.
Potential Intervention Points are illustrated in reflection of the Health Literacy Framework. While these potential intervention points include interactions such as those of individuals and the education systems that they are engaged with, their health systems, and societal factors as they relate to health literacy, these points are not components of a causal model. The three potential intervention points are culture and society, the health system, and the education system. Health outcomes and costs are the products of the health literacy developed during diversity of exposure to these three potential intervention points.
Referring to shared ideas, meanings, and values that influence an individual's beliefs and attitudes, cultural and societal influences are a significant intervention point for health literacy development. As interactions with healthcare systems often first occur at the family level, deeply rooted beliefs and values can shape the significance of the experience. Included components that reflect the development of health literacy both culturally and societally are native language, socioeconomic status, gender, race, and ethnicity, as well as mass media exposure. These are pathways to understanding American life paralleling conquests for a health literate America.
The health system is an intervention point in the Health Literacy Framework. For the purposes of this framework, health literacy refers to an individual's interaction with people performing health-related activities in settings such as hospitals, clinics, physician's offices, home health care, public health agencies, and insurers.
In the United States, the education system consists of K-12 curricula. In addition to this standard educational setting, adult education programs are also environments in which individuals can develop traditional literacy skills founded in comprehension and real-world application of knowledge via reading and writing. Tools for educational development provided by these systems impact an individual's capacity to obtain specific knowledge regarding health. Reflecting components of traditional literacy such as cultural and conceptual knowledge, oral literacy (listening and speaking,) print literacy (reading and writing,) and numeracy, education systems are also potential intervention points for health literacy development.
Development of a health literacy program
A successful health literacy program will have many goals that all work together to improve health literacy. Many people assume these goals should communicate health information to the general public, however in order to be successful the goals should not only communicate with people but also take into account social and environmental factors that influence lifestyle choices. A good example of this is the movement to end smoking. When a health literacy program is put into place where only the negative side effects of smoking are told to the general public it is doomed to fail. However, when there is a larger program put in - one that includes strategies outlining how to quit smoking, raises tobacco prices, reduces access to tobacco by minors, and reflect social a social unacceptability of smoking - it will be much more effective.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services suggests a National Action Plan to implement a comprehensive Health Literacy Program. They include 7 goals:
- Develop and disseminate health and safety information that is accurate, accessible, and actionable
- Promote changes in the health care system that improve health information, communication, informed decision making, and access to health services
- Incorporate accurate, standards-based, and developmentally appropriate health and science information and curricula in child care and education through the university level
- Support and expand local efforts to provide adult education, English language instruction, and culturally and linguistically appropriate health information services in the community
- Build partnerships, develop guidance, and change policies
- Increase basic research and the development, implementation, and evaluation of practices and interventions to improve health literacy
- Increase the dissemination and use of evidence-based health literacy practices and interventions
These goals should be taken into account when implementing a health literacy program.
There are also goals for the outcomes of a Health Literacy Program.
Health Related Goals
- Promoting and protect health and prevent disease
- Understand, interpret, and analyze health information
- Apply health information over a variety of life events and situations
- Navigate the healthcare system
- Actively participate in encounters with healthcare professionals and workers
- Understand and give consent
- Understand and advocate for rights
Libraries
Libraries have increasingly recognised that they can play a role in health literacy since the 2000s, influenced by the Medical Library Association. Library initiatives have included running education programs, fostering partnerships with health organisations, and using outreach efforts.
See also
- Adult education
- Health numeracy
- Health promotion
- Mental health literacy
- mHealth
- Nutrition literacy
- Patient safety
Citations
Sources
- Hayat, T. Z., Brainin, E., & Neter, E. (2017). With Some Help From My Network: Supplementing eHealth Literacy With Social Ties. Journal of medical Internet research, 19(3). e98. doi: 10.2196/jmir.6472
- Nutbeam, D. (2000). Health literacy as a public health goal: A challenge for contemporary health education and communication strategies into the 21st century. Health Promotion International, 15(3), 259-267.
- Pleasant, A.; Kuruvilla, S. (2008), A tale of two health literacies? Public health and clinical approaches to health literacy, Health Promotion International, archived from the original on 2008-10-07, retrieved Feb 28, 2008
- Ratzan, S. C. (2001). Health literacy: Communication for the public good. Health Promotion International, 16(2), 207-214.
- Rootman, I., & Wharf-Higgins, J. (2007), Literacy and Health: Implications for Active Living (18), WellSpring, p. 4 CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
- "Health Literacy Improvement". health.gov. July 24, 2008.
- Rudd, R., Moeykens, B. Colton, TC. (1999) Health and literacy: A review of medical and public health literature. In J. Comings, B. Garners, & C. Smith, eds. Annual Review of Adult Learning and Literacy, Volume I. New York, NY: Jossey-Bass.
- Zarcadoolas, C., Pleasant, A., & Greer, D. (2005). Understanding health literacy: An expanded model. Health Promotion International, 20, 195-203.
- Zarcadoolas, C., Pleasant, A., & Greer, D. (2006). Advancing health literacy: A framework for understanding and action. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, CA.
External links
- Teaching Patients with Low Literacy Skills by Doak, Doak, and Root free download of entire book
- Health literacy course and materials based at Harvard University led by Rima Rudd
- Health Literacy Discussion List
- Health and Literacy Special Collection
- "A Selection of Health Literacy Articles and Research" published by Partnership for Clear Health Communication
- Health Literacy Consulting. Includes the full-text of many health literacy articles as well as links to numerous resources.
- Health Literacy Resource List for Educators, USDA NAL Food and Nutrition Information Center (PDF|76KB)
- Link to Literacy Assistance Center health literacy resources for adult literacy educators and health care providers
- Link to Infodyne.org - InfoDyne Health Literacy Project (IHLP) is a non-profit organization that was founded in response to an overwhelming need for advocacy, research and the production of better health education tools to increase the level of health literacy across communities and improve patient safety and quality of care. Our mission is to save lives by increasing the level of health literacy across the spectrum of healthcare.
- A collection of health literacy curricula
- A variety of free Health Literacy and Patient Safety resources from the American Medical Association Foundation
- Health Literacy Searchable Online Library Includes health literacy studies, review articles, curricula, health materials in languages other than English and aimed at specific demographic groups (Health Literacy Missouri)
- Using social media for improving health literacy. In: THE SOLID FACTS - Health Literacy: Enabling healthier decisions in the 21st century. Copenhagen, Denmark: World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, due Oct 2012 (in press)
Source of article : Wikipedia
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