Health Literacy: Essential for Better Patient Outcomes - Research Paper

Introduction

For better outcomes among patients, health literacy is one of the primary attributes required. Health literacy includes the ability to read, understand, and act according to health information for maintaining a healthy life (Griffey, Kennedy, McGownan, Goodman, & Kaphingst, 2014). It is necessary for discussions and dialogue, reading, interpreting, making decisions, the use of therapeutic tools, calculations, and dosage timing, and involvement on health issues, among other activities related to the industry (Quick Guide to Health Literacy, n.d.). This factor has been identified as a vital aspect provision of excellent patient care, thus improving patient outcomes. Therefore, health literacy is a concern in the healthcare industry, especially for people protecting and promoting a healthier population, preventing diseases through actions such as early screening, health maintenance, and the making of policies.

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According to the department of health and human services, only 12 percent of Americans have proficient health literacy. Also, over 33 percent (77 million) of the adults in the country have difficulties with following basic health-related instructions such as adhering to the recommended prescription (America's Health Literacy, n.d). The issue is among all ethnic groups, with the old being affected the most. The less educated one is, the higher the chances of understanding health information. However, there are college graduates with limited health literacy. Therefore, the problem can be faced by absolutely anyone in the country. Besides having a substantial economic impact on the United States and other parts of the world, health literacy has influenced medical errors, compromised public health, increasing disability and chronic diseases, and unhealthy living behaviors. Health care provider's knowledge of the patient's health literacy is a crucial area in determining the treatment outcomes.

Nurses interact the most with patients in the healthcare setting. As healthcare providers, their knowledge of patient's health literacy is of paramount importance since it determines the extent to which they need to explain or demonstrate information (Rajah, Hassali, Jou, & Murugiah, 2018). The patient-provider interaction on various issues, such as medication, is highly dependent on the nurse's knowledge of the patient's level of health literacy. Given that people are different, due to various factors such as education level, cultural and religious background, there is no standardization in understanding information. Therefore, healthcare providers need to communicate differently with every patient. The purpose of this study is to determine by what degree does the lack of nursing professionals' profound knowledge of health literacy amongst their patients impacts the patient's ability to understand aftercare discharge.

Operational Definitions

The department of health and human services defines health literacy as the extent to which a patient can access, process, understand and act according to the required standard, based on health information (Griffey et al., 2014).

Health Literacy knowledge in this study is the act of a nurse understanding the level of health literacy of a patient, to determine factors like how to communicate and information to give them.

Key word: Health Literacy, Health Literacy knowledge, Teach back method, Newest vital sign method, Short-Form Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (SF-TOFHLA)

Background and Significance

The government, through the department of health and human services, identifies health literacy as a factor affecting a considerable percentage of the American people. Among adults, more than a third have problems with understanding and following simple medical instruction such as prescriptions, healthy living instructions, immunization schedules, and interpreting simple charts. Health literacy affects all people, including all ethnic groups, both uneducated and college degree holders, and all age groups. Only about 12% of people have proficient health literacy (America's Health Literacy, n.d). Even among the most learned individuals, with high health literacy, they face the same challenge, especially when medical terms or how their bodies work is not familiar to them. When calculations or risks are involved, all people have a problem with understanding health information. Also, when one is diagnosed with severe diseases, or have complex conditions, understanding and interpreting information, becomes a problem.

Health literacy is dependent on several factors. The major contributing factor to medical literacy is one's communication skills, especially between nurses and patients. This factor arises when the nurse is required to explain medical instructions to the patient. Basic education, such as reading and writing skills, is also directly related to understanding health information (Rajah et al., 2018). The type of health problem, the context of information, and the condition of the patient also contribute to the level of literacy. Severe illnesses such as cardiac conditions lead to confusion, lowering the health literacy of an individual. Health literacy contributes to one's understanding and navigation of healthcare, such as answering questions on hospital forms and locating healthcare providers. Low health literacy also inhibits individuals from sharing crucial personal information such as illness history, if they are under medication, and if they are susceptible to certain diseases due to factors such as gene inheritance (Rajah et al., 2018).

Health literacy has contributes to a substantial percentage of hospital readmission cases among American patients (Kripalani, Theobald, Anctil, & Vasilevskis, 2014). There are many cases where patients go home after treatment, only to get back to the hospital after a short period due to not following simple tasks such as following the given transcription (Merkow et al., 2015). In some cases, the patient only requires to take medication for a month, but a simple mistake, like consuming restricted food while under medication. The condition gets from recovering to requiring critical monitoring at the hospital. In other cases, patients have been prescribed to take the wrong medication due to lack of earlier communication about their allergies or current medication. Others have missed out to communicate factors such as pregnancy during treatment, endangering their unborn babies (Avram, Petruccelli, Winemaker, & DeBeer, 2014). Also, cases of a patient taking the wrong medication, leading to more severe conditions are common, all because of low health literacy.

Nurses have occasionally been identified as the epicentre of healthcare provision. They spend the most time with patients, compared to any other healthcare provider. In most cases, nurses have been used to initiate major changes or growth in the healthcare industry, such as evidence-based care. Nurses are also often responsible for patient discharge, meaning they are the final healthcare providers patients interact with before leaving the hospital premise (Merkow et al., 2015). Nurses give patients instructions on how they should conduct themselves to help the recovery process or maintain a healthy life. During this moment, health literacy determines the outcomes of the treatment. Nurses will often do their part, giving patients guidelines and required instructions (Avram et al., 2014). Patients' understanding of health information is dependent on their level of health literacy. Also, nurses are responsible for taking patient information before treatment commences. Patient history is a crucial determinant of the treatment process or medication prescribed medication. Individuals with low health literacy will have difficulties to provide all necessary data, endangering their lives (Kripalani et al., 2014). However, nurses equipped with required knowledge to understand the patient's health literacy, reduce any risks by ensuring that communication with them is conclusive and all information is provided under all cost.

Significance

Given the importance of health literacy in healthcare provision, studying the issue has several benefits. The government and the healthcare industry are working tirelessly to provide better services and achieve a healthier nation (Fernandez, Larson, & Zikmund-Fisher, 2016). Understanding problems that can hinder the provision of assured equity, quality, and better outcomes among patients aligns with the government care for a healthier society. This study echoes the existence of a problem that has been affecting Americans for an extended period. Informing both nurses and the general public of the presence of a problem facing them makes it easier for facing it and developing solutions. If healthcare providers are aware of the significance of health literacy, they will prompt changes and steps to make sure that the issue does not hinder service provision. Nurses understanding that the problem exists and that anyone can become a victim will go to extra steps while communicating with patients, keenly hearing them, and ensuring their understanding.

Achieving positive healthcare outcomes is the goal of all care providers in the sector. Understanding a patient's health literacy is a step towards achieving this goal. With positive results, both patients and healthcare providers get satisfied and happy about the treatment. The costs associated with low health literacy, such as hospital readmissions and deteriorating conditions can be successfully avoided, lessening the patient's burden. With reduced healthcare cost and a healthy body, productivity goes up, and quality of life rises.

All nurses should be prepared to have a productive communication with patient. Understanding their literacy level helps them give extra attention to such conversation, to the extent of making longer explanations to ensure information is understood correctly. According to Rajah et al. (2018), nurses should always have effective communication with patients, despite factors such as culture, level of education, ethnic background, and social status. The study will discuss and recommend a means of determining patient's health literacy and interventions to counter the problem.

References

America's Health Literacy: Why We Need Accessible Health Information. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://health.gov/communication/literacy/issuebrief/.

Avram, V., Petruccelli, D., Winemaker, M., & De Beer, J. (2014). Total joint arthroplasty readmission rates and reasons for 30-day hospital readmission. The Journal of arthroplasty, 29(3), 465-468.

Fernandez, D. M., Larson, J. L., & Zikmund-Fisher, B. J. (2016). Associations between health literacy and preventive health behaviors among older adults: findings from the health and retirement study. BMC public health, 16(1), 596. Retrieved from https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-016-3267-7

Griffey, R., Kennedy, S., McGownan, L., Goodman, M., & Kaphingst, K. (2014). Is low health literacy associated with increased emergency department utilization and recidivism? Academy of Emergency Medicine, 21(10), 1109-1115. DOI: 10.1111/acem.12476

Kripalani, S., Theobald, C. N., Anctil, B., & Vasilevskis, E. E. (2014). Reducing hospital readmission rates: current strategies and future directions. Annual review of medicine, 65, 471-485. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4104507/

Merkow, R. P., Ju, M. H., Chung, J. W., Hall, B. L., Cohen, M. E., Williams, M. V., ... & Bilimoria, K. Y. (2015). Underlying reasons associated with hospital readmission following surgery in the United S...