According to Lambert (2014), Health literacy involves not only reading and writing skills, but it also entails listening, talking, numerical competence and the use of everyday technology to converse, understand information, discover novel opportunities and to initiate change. Health literacy is a multifaceted set of reasoning, social and directional abilities that comprises of language skill, reading ability, numerical literacy and the ability to relate with healthcare employees, complete difficult documents, and able to understand risk and probability (Mattox 2010). In healthy people 2020, health literacy is defined as the magnitude to which individuals have the ability to attain, process and comprehend basic health material and services that …show more content…
the knowledge, skills and behavior obtained during these ages are what we tend to carry into adulthood (Borzekowski 2009, Chang 2011). Manganello (2008) highlighted that adolescents need to be able to develop basic functional skills such as reading, writing and numerical competence in addition to interactive, media and fundamental skills such as cognitive analysis, problem-solving and social skills in order to be considered as health literate. Health outcomes can possibly be improved if children learned how to make healthier choices and recognize the significances of their choices (Menzies 2012). Low health literacy in adulthood can lead to poor health outcomes that involve longer and frequent hospitalizations, more and more utilization of emergency rooms, and incapability to deal with chronic diseases such as asthma and diabetes (Oakbrook, …show more content…
It is important for APNs to utilize effective communication skills that involves good listening ability in order for them to assist in educating patient and student. When providing information, the focus should not just be on offering it, rather it should also focus on ensuring that the content of the information passed has been clearly understood (Thompson 2012). In enhancing health literacy, DeWalt et al (2010), outline these areas that needs improvement they include Verbal and Written communication, Self-care and empowerment, and Helpful systems. Patient education and effective communication are core elements of the nursing profession; therefore, awareness of a patient's health literacy is essential to patient care, safety, education, and counseling
Studies show that patients forget at least half of the information explained to them (Tamaru-Lis, 2013, p. 268). In addition, low health literacy correlates with poor disease management, readmissions, and poor compliance to treatments (Eadie, 2014, p. 9). The goal of teach-back, therefore, is to improve recollection and increase health literacy. Nursing practice is aimed towards meeting these goals. Ultimately, nursing practice will improve as nurses are better able to deliver quality care, promote patient safety, and increase patient satisfaction. As a result, patient outcomes are optimized because teach-back minimizes communication errors and encourages participation. Participation allows patients to make appropriate decisions which direct health care professionals to provide patient-centered care.
“Communication is the heart of nursing… your ability to use your growing knowledge and yourself as an instrument of care and caring and compassion” (Koerner, 2010, as cited in Balzer-Riley, 2012, p. 2). The knowledge base which Koerner is referring to includes important concepts such as communication, assertiveness, responsibility and caring (Balzer-Riley, 2012). Furthermore, communication is complex. It includes communication with patients, patient families, doctors, co-workers, nurse managers and many others. Due to those concepts and the variety of people involved, barriers and issues are present. Knowing how to communicate efficiently can be difficult.
Communication encompasses a wide range of processes such as the exchange of information, listening, posing of questions (Fleischer et al., 2009) or use of body language. In a healthcare environment where there are constant interactions among nurses, doctors, patients and other health professionals, professional and effective communication is important in ensuring high quality healthcare standards and meeting the individual needs of patients.
Nurses today need to have excellent communication skills. Receiving information from patients is the most important aspect of nursing. If nurses are unable to communicate with their patient then they would not be able to have a relationship with them. Communication is where two or more people interact with each other, by using sounds and words, this is verbal communication. Some individuals have different behaviors where they try to express themselves to others without using spoken words, this is non verbal communication. Once nurses have the proper communication tools, techniques and evidence based practice, when communicating with their patient, they would get the necessary information needed from the patient to properly diagnosis them.
However, health literacy is more than just read and write; it is the ability to understand and able to use health information to make choices about their health (Benyon, 2014). Low health literacy can have detrimental effect on the health of the client because it may cause misunderstand of the medical label or health information. According to McMurray & Clendon (2015), health literacy divided into three different levels which are functional, interactive/communicative and critical health literacy. As for functional levels, it is the most general and fundamental level for the general public because individuals need to receive and understand the information of health such as risk of health decision, consent forms, health instruction or medicine labels. (McMurray & Clendo , 2015) Turning to the next level, interactive/communicative health literacy, mainly involved personal skills to spread health knowledge to the community, and also , people are able to influence social norm and help others individuals to develop their personal health capacity. Because of this, understanding of how organization work and resounding communication skill which can help to support others and knowing how to get different health services other individuals need (McMurray & Clendo , 2015). The third level is critical health literacy, mainly divided to
Merging multi-literacies in Health and Physical Education could allow students to talk about topics of the genre more successfully and have knowledge of Health and Physical Education terms and language in daily life. According to Nutbeam (2000) interactive health literacy is a term which outlines the individual inspiration to maintain personal health. By teaching skills in the primary years to communicate and cope with health issues and physical activity will assist students in the schools of South Australia to know their personal requirements.
In nursing practice, communication is essential, and good communication skills are paramount in the development of a therapeutic nurse/patient relationship. This aim of this essay is to discuss the importance of communication in nursing, demonstrating how effective communication facilitates a therapeutic nurse/patient relationship. This will be achieved by providing a definition of communication, making reference to models of communication and explaining how different types of communication skills can be used in practise.
Health literacy is a term not widely understood by the general population. It is defined as “the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information needed to make appropriate health decisions and services needed to prevent or treat illness,” (About health literacy, 2014). A person’s level of health literacy is based on their age, education level, socioeconomic standing, and cultural background. Patients with low health literacy have a more difficult time navigating the health care system. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, this group of patients may find it harder to find medical services and health care providers, fill out health forms, provide their complete medical history with their providers, seek preventative care, understand the health risks associated with some behaviors, taking care of chronic health conditions, and understanding how to take prescribed medications (About health literacy, 2014). It is to a certain extent the patient’s responsibility to increase their own health literacy knowledge. But to what extent can they learn on their own? Those working in the health field have been trained to navigate the health system and understand the medical terms. They have the knowledge and capability to pass on that understanding to their patients. Health care professionals have a shared responsibility to help improve patients’ health literacy.
Communication in the nursing practice and in healthcare is important because when talking with patients, their families, and staff, the nurse and the nursing student needs to be able to efficiently express the information that they want the other person to understand. “Verbal communication is a primary way of transmitting vital information concerning patient issues in hospital settings” (Raica, 2009, para. 1). When proper communication skills are lacking in nursing practice, the chances of errors and risks to the patient’s safety increases. One crucial aspect of communication that affects the patient care outcome is how the nurse and the nursing student interacts and communicates with the physicians and other staff members. If the nurse is not clear and concise when relaying patient information to other members of the healthcare team the patient care may be below the expected quality.
The introduction paragraph gives information on communication and the impact that it has on patient-nurse relationships. It gives the reader an understanding of what is involved in true communication and how that it is a fundamental part of nursing and skills all nurses need. It leads those interested in delivering quality nursing to read on. Showing us the significance that communication makes in the
Interpersonal communication within the field of nursing is imperative in all areas to deliver a holistic positive outcome in patient care. Specifically, active listening, questioning with intent and reflective feedback ascertain an understanding of a patient’s health, illness, and healthcare. Active listening allows the patient to convey their concerns and presents the nurse with an understanding of the patient when implementing a personalised care plan. Questioning with intent builds an appreciation of the situation, and reflective feedback promotes improvements to enrich work ethics of the nursing cohort. Listening actively involves many different styles whereby information is gathered through verbal and non-verbal communication. Questioning
What are the ways I can recognize and deal with poor health literacy? Numerous people have trouble obtaining, processing and understanding the basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decision. Some of the reasons for poor health literacy are cultural beliefs, lack of proper health education in the American school system, lack of awareness, misleading news and political disagreement when it comes to health care, lack of proper communication between health professionals and the patients etc.
The goal of improving health literacy is to empower individuals and community, to ensure that they feel comfortable and confident to make effective decisions by obtaining and understanding the relevant information. Strategies that applied in addressing health literacy should reflect respect, cultural safety, community or individuals’ needs and literacy level. Health professionals should facilitate and build capacity in promoting health literacy to allow the target groups have more control over their health and
More than 40 years ago, the term of health literacy introduced for the first time (1, 2) and as a means to enhance health outcomes and alleviate health inequalities has been considered for its significant role in health education and health promotion (3). Regard to the complex and evolving concept of health literacy and based on different perspectives, various definitions have been developed (1, 4, 5). However, it usually refers to personal competencies for access to, process and act on health information and services to make sound decisions and maintain good health (6). Most of the health literacy studies took place in medical setting showed that low health literacy is resulted in poorer health outcomes, health disparities, and increased health
Health is a vital component in our everyday life. If it is compromised, everything else goes down with it. Health affects an individual drastically; therefore, it is imperative that we take good care of our bodies in order to maintain normal body functions that can help us go through our normal day-to-day lives without fail. There are many factors that can affect health--one of them is Education. Health education feeds emotions that will motivate us to do a better job at being caretakers of ourselves. It can therefore, be said that health education can encourage people to act on their own personal health.