Healthcare Literacy

Irene Nguyen, 8/14/24

Healthcare literacy in a general sense is the capacity to obtain health-related information and use that knowledge to benefit oneself or an organization in medical care. Healthcare literacy involves one’s ability to fully comprehend, find, and seek health-related issues thereby making decisions on what one should do next to aid oneself or others. The term is broken down into two categories. 

• Personal health literacy 

• Organizational health literacy 

Both branches of terms have very similar descriptions and characteristics from their mother roots; however, each term has its own uniqueness and liability. 

Personal health literacy describes the state of perspicacity in which an individual fully comprehends their own health issues, seeks professional help, and acts on the plans fully knowing the subject conveyed. The simplicity of the term is just acknowledging one’s predicament, seeking help within one’s capacity, and using informative, beneficial advice to aid oneself. 

Organizational health literacy describes the propagation of health-related services, informative impartial advice, and the conveying of easy comprehensible medical help to patients. Oftentimes, patients are not able to understand the issue or the solution given by medical professionals due to the heavy influence of clinical terms thrown at them. Either by the language barrier or not easily understood way of speaking, it needs to be universal to convey medical help in a way that patients can take in without stress so the advice can assuage them in their pursuit of well-being. 

Healthcare literacy, by Health People 2030, an organization that strives to promote inclusivity, impartial health services, and by making health information less complicated to grasp for normal citizens who might not have prior knowledge in the medical field and are therefore unable to know the various health phrases thrown around by professionals. 

Healthcare literacy is a topic of great importance and discussion. The term itself enlightens citizens on the cardinal of being health literate and making medical advice much more comprehensible. For example, an individual might seek medical help because they are aching with pain all around. However, after their appointments, they were dumbfounded by the numerous health concerns conveyed to them in medical terms that can’t be easily deciphered. While on teeter hooks, their time was wasted on meaningless conversations and now the individual is left ruminating through the message, not being able to make use of the advice at all! Such casualties are still prevalent and immigrants or people lacking English fluency are the most targeted. Medical consultation should never inordinately be focused on health statistics and override the needs of the patients. So the idea is to have a balance between communicating in a language easily understandable for valetudinarians and making sure that they are getting the services or help they need. 

Health People 2030 has already employed some strategies to combat the problem and make health information accessible, fathomable, and without bias. The tactics are implemented to create a more inclusive, word-friendly, and health equity in the medical constitution. Here are some and their motives to change the medical world. 

• Organization and medical professionals changing their ways. 

The biggest shift to creating a more inclusive and accessible medical space is if organizations and health professionals are willing to take part. They can join the wagon to greatness by taking the time to understand the sufferer's ailment and translate the help in an easy phrasing. Alongside communication, health professionals can direct any treatments, remedies, or processes in a matter that will leave the recoverer in a state of tranquility. 

• Universal healthcare literacy. 

The assumption that an individual would be able to understand all that they are being thrown out is a presumptuous excuse used by many. Whether that person lacks English fluency, requires assistance, or is just a normal citizen, the health industry's liability is to communicate through all of their patients' equity and free of bigotry to ensure a space of solace for all attendees. 

• Clear and coherent communication between providers and patients. 

Providers are health professionals whose liability is to share any health-related problems and to make sure the patients are free from obscurity when it comes to their personal health status. In order to do so in an effective manner, providers are advised to take their time fully answering patient's questions in the absence of encryption and to guide their patients clearly. With the contribution of such a valiant endeavor, we can strive to make an impact on the medical world. 

Without a doubt, the coherency and delivery of professional healthcare guidance make an impact on their patient's lives. Through the treatments, personal health status, and remedies that a patient can be expected to receive. If we were to create a space where medical information is easily comprehensible that would be beneficial for both the infirm and the medical worker and make health procedures run smoothly. 

References 

CDC: “What Is Health Literacy?”

https://www.cdc.gov/healthliteracy/learn/index.html 

Healthy People 2030: “Health Literacy in Healthy People 2030”

https://health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/health-literacy-healthy-people-2030