LACK OF EDUCATION IN HEALTHCARE KYLE DICKEY (BSPS)
Resolution Attempts Healthcare education in practice is the information
healthcare professionals provide to patients on the disease that is affecting them, regardless of it being acute or chronic and if it is curable or only can be managed. Examples of healthcare education include a doctor counseling a patient with asthma that they should avoiding being around smokers as the cigarette smoke could trigger an asthma attack or a physician's assistant providing exercise and weight management information for an obese patient. As crucial as this information may be to a patient, they may be unaware or
Education's Importance in Healthcare
misinformed on their condition and actively do things that do
Education is a highly influential factor in the quality of
American study, healthcare professionals were not regularly
healthcare people receive globally. A lack of education
educating patients on how to manage their chronic
in healthcare can be primarily interpreted as a
conditions. In the 6 types of health education needed for a
patient’s lack of knowledge on a condition that affects
variety of conditions ranging from asthma to depression to
them, either due to a failure on behalf of healthcare
diabetes, not a single education category achieved higher
professionals to educate them or through the patient’s
than a 50% education rate across all healthcare professionals
lower education restraining them from having access
including nurses, physician’s assistants and even doctors.2
not better or even worsen their condition. Noted in a 5-year
to the information. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which includes 37 member countries across Europe, Asia, North and South America, and Australia, people with lower levels of education are expected to live on average 6 years less than those with a college degree or equivalent education.1
Resolution Attempts Attempts to manage this issue include the American Medical Association, CDC, and other American health organizations offering free or low-cost training to improve healthcare workers’ interpersonal skills to allow them to better communicate the information they need totell the patients effectively.4 Attempts like this should be supported globally and even requirements for patients post-diagnosis of a chronic condition with followup annual counseling free of charge would allow for vital health information to be accessible to all who need it.
Personal Opinion Personally, I believe that the lack of education in healthcare needs to be addressed as it leaves disadvantaged people based on their education at a greater disadvantage. Those lacking health education do not receive the assistance they Figure 1: Adapted from Health Impact of Education: a review, Institute of Public Health in Ireland.
need from healthcare professionals to be aware of and make conscious decisions to better their health.
References 1. OECD/EU (2018), Health at a Glance: Europe 2018: State of Health in the EU Cycle, OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/health_glance_eur-2018-en 2. Ritsema TS, Bingenheimer JB, Scholting P, Cawley JF. Preventing Chronic Disease. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2014/13_0175.htm Accessed March 29, 2021.
