Health Literacy Paper

Low health literacy can act as a barrier in understanding the disease process of heart failure. The research problem identified is the collecting of data that measures health literacy. Each literature review used different tools to assess participant’s health literacy. One tool used only three questions whereas another used more than fifty. The development of one tool may be challenging and require multiple attempts to provide accuracy. The standardized tool in measuring a person’s health literacy can assist health care providers to determine any additional education their patient needs (McCormack, 2009).

The collection of data to determine health literacy should be done in the form of standardized questions. Each question should represent

factors that may contribute to health literacy such as educational level, age and demographic location. Identifying health literacy with a standardized method can provide data that has continuity.
The method of administering a standardized assessment is important and address and require a bilingual approach. The use of electronics or pen and paper can also influence the outcome. The administration of standardized questions should be formatted using plain language to ensure understanding (Baker, 2006). Developing a universal tool that determines the health literacy of any patient regardless of the disease process may improve their quality of life.