Nursing

Nursing

Part A

            Upon reading the articles on health literacy, what surprised me most is that according to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, “9 out of adults may lack the skills required to manage their health as well as prevent disease” (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2017). Health literacy is very important as it helps in the achievement of positive health outcomes. It has become necessary for everyone to have literacy in health matters so that they can make health decisions that contribute positively to their lives. When patients have knowledge of health matters, they are able to contribute to their health outcomes, determine the quality of health care that they will receive, and manage health care costs (Liebner, 2015). Health literacy also empowers the patients to have diverse information related to culture, age, language, and ability that enables them to understand both health information and services. It also helps to improve communication efficiency between the health care giver and the patient (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009).

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            Having knowledge that few adults possess health literacy is important because it will allow organizations to prioritize the improvement of health literacy in the population. Improving health literacy helps in the overall achievement of positive health care outcomes in a community. The process of improving health literacy will include formative evaluations to gauge the literacy levels of the population. The evaluation can be done through literacy assessment instruments that include Newest Vital Sign, Nutritional Literacy Scale, Rapid Assessment for Adult Literacy in Medicine, and Test of Basic Adult Education among others (NC Program on Health Literacy, 2014). Improvement of health literacy in the population will help in improving the quality of health of the population.

Part B

            There is a difference between heath literacy and e-health. Health literacy refers to the capacity of individuals to obtain, process, and understand information on basic health and services (Mastrian & McGonigle, 2017). Through health literacy, individuals are able to make appropriate health decisions that lead to positive health outcomes. E-health refers to a healthcare practice that incorporates the use of information and communication technologies (Mastrian & McGonigle, 2017). Through e-health, technology is incorporated in the practice of managing health information, and thus improving health literacy and healthcare delivery.

            There are various technology-based approaches that can be used to promote consumer health education. They include the use of electronically stored information that has been tailored to a specific consumer situation. This information is printed and then reviewed by the patient. It can also be done through health promotion programs that are broadcast on television and radios. Health information kiosks can also be created in specific areas to promote health education. Secure patient portals will let the patients track their electronic records. Dynamic websites and social media sites can also be used to engage patients (Mastrian & McGonigle, 2017).

There are, however, barriers that are associated with technology use. Making the information available does not guarantee the participation of the individuals in the process. They might not also understand what they have experienced. The technology design should have aesthetics that will attract people and should also be easy to use.

In future, health literacy will be promoted through audio and video podcasts that will be provided as free downloads on health care promotion websites (Mastrian & McGonigle, 2017). Voice navigation will also be incorporated in the navigation of the World Wide Web to ease the frustration and confusion that arises out of the need to spell complex medical terms.

References

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2009). Simply Put: A guide for creating easy-to-understand materials. Atlanta, GA: CDC.

Liebner, L. T. (2015). I can’t read that! Improving perioperative literacy for ambulatory surgical patients. AORN journal, 101(4), 416-427.

Mastrian, K. G., & McGonigle, D. (2017). Informatics for health professionals. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

NC Program on Health Literacy (2014). Literacy Assessment Instruments. Retrieved from http://www.nchealthliteracy.org/instruments.html

US Department of Health and Human Services (2017). Health Literacy Improvement. Retrieved from https://health.gov/communication/literacy/