HEALTH MATTERS

Increasing Your Health Literacy Skills

Picture this scenario… You are visiting your doctor for a routine office visit. The doctor is reviewing your health information and status with you. Are you able to understand what the doctor is discussing with you?

Personal health literacy is the degree to which individuals can find, understand, and use information and services to make informed health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others (CDC, Health people 2023).

Taking care of our health is an essential part of everyday life. Having the ability to understand health information is necessary to maintain our well-being. Health literacy can help individuals manage and prevent health problems and make the healthcare environment easier to navigate. Inadequate health literacy can adversely affect an individual’s health and well-being. Poor health literacy skills can result in poor self-care, increased utilization of health services, worse outcomes, poor adherence to care directives, and decreased likelihood of receiving preventive care and services. Poor communication with patients also contributes to unnecessary readmissions and reduced patient satisfaction with the healthcare provider and agency.

There are simple ways to improve your health literacy skills and make sure you receive understandable information from your healthcare providers. First, insist that your doctor, pharmacist, or other healthcare providers speak to you using language you can understand. Health information can be confusing even for those with advanced literacy skills. It’s easy for those working in health care to forget that they speak in a language that patients can’t always easily understand. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Be assertive to get the information you need. Ask the provider to speak slowly and repeat information as necessary. Consider taking a friend or a loved one to the appointment to also hear what is being said by the provider. This is especially important when the patient is elderly or may have cognitive or sensory deficits that interfere with comprehending the provided information. Get a phone number or email address to use if you have questions after you leave the appointment.

Write down a list of questions before you go to each appointment. Use these questions to guide your discussion with the provider. Request written information to support what you were told. Ask the provider for reliable websites and other resources to help explain your condition.

Use technology to increase your understanding of your health condition. Access and review your health information through internet-based patient portals and use mobile apps provided by the health care agency.

Take the time to demonstrate the correct use of a device or perform a task. Repeat the demonstration several times before your leave the office.

Clarify how long you will need to take a medication or participate in other types of therapy. Seek to understand the benefits and disadvantages of the treatment and inquire about alternative therapies that could be used to treat your disorder.

Having clear access to and understanding healthcare information can make us feel, do, and live better. Using these health literacy strategies strengthens the communication between doctor and patient. Furthermore, these strategies encourage individuals to advocate for themselves and Dr. Denyce Watties-Daniels will help you to gain maximum support from your healthcare Assistant Professor at Coppin State University DWatties-Daniels@coppin.eduprovider. healthytips025@gmail.com

$2000