Definitions for health literacy
health lit·er·a·cy

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Health literacy

   Health literacy is the ability to obtain, read, understand, and use healthcare information in order to make appropriate health decisions and follow instructions for treatment. There are multiple definitions of health literacy, in part, because health literacy involves both the context (or setting) in which health literacy demands are made (e.g., health care, media, internet or fitness facility) and the skills that people bring to that situation.Since health literacy is a primary contributing factor to health disparities, it is a continued and increasing concern for health professionals. The 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) conducted by the US Department of Education found that 36% of participants scored as either "basic" or "below basic" in terms of their health literacy and concluded that approximately 80 million Americans have limited health literacy. These individuals have difficulty with common health tasks including reading the label of a prescribed drug. Several factors may influence health literacy. However, the following factors have been shown to strongly increase this risk: age (especially patients 65 years and older), limited English language proficiency or English as a second language, chronic conditions, less education, and lower socioeconomic status. Patients with low health literacy understand less about their medical conditions and treatments and overall report worse health status.Various interventions, such as simplifying information and illustrations, avoiding jargon, using "teach-back" methods, and encouraging patients' questions, have improved health behaviors in persons with low health literacy. The proportion of adults aged 18 and over in the U.S., in the year 2010, who reported that their health care providers always explained things so they could understand them was about 60.6%. This number increased 1% from 2007 to 2010. The Healthy People 2020 initiative of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has included health literacy as a pressing new topic, with objectives for improving it in the decade to come.In planning for Healthy People 2030 (the fifth edition of Healthy People), HHS issued a "Solicitation for Written Comments on an Updated Health Literacy Definition for Healthy People." Several proposals address the fact that "health literacy is multidimensional", being the result of a concerted effort that involves the individual seeking care or information, providers and caregivers, the complexity and demands of the system, and the use of plain language for communication.

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Health literacy

   Health literacy is the ability to read, understand and use healthcare information to make decisions and follow instructions for treatment. There are multiple definitions of health literacy, in part because health literacy involves both the context in which health literacy demands are made and the skills that people bring to that situation. Studies reveal that up to half of patients cannot understand basic healthcare information. Low health literacy reduces the success of treatment and increases the risk of medical error. Various interventions, such as simplified information and illustrations, avoiding jargon, "teach back" methods and encouraging patients questions, have improved health behaviors in persons with low health literacy. Health literacy is of continued and increasing concern for health professionals, as it is a primary factor behind health disparities. The Healthy People 2020 initiative of the United States Department of Health and Human Services has included it as a pressing new topic, with objectives for addressing it in the decade to come.

U.S. National Library of MedicineRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Health Literacy

   Degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.

How to pronounce health literacy?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say health literacy in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of health literacy in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of health literacy in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of health literacy in a Sentence

1. Sharon Meropol:

   Often pubic insurance status is used as a proxy for the risk of decreased socioeconomic status and poor educational opportunities, parents of disadvantaged children are at risk of decreased health literacy.

2. Chau Trinh-Shevrin:

   In some respects, it is premature to note that ACA expansion reduced the cancer disparities gap with treatment time as the primary outcome, the literature on cancer disparities indicate a large range of social determinants of health that influence access and utilization of cancer screening, care and treatment -- that range from stigma, limited English proficiency, low health literacy, limited social support, or difficulties in navigating the US healthcare system.

3. Otis Brawley:

   A higher proportion of black men are challenged in terms of health literacy and less likely to seek out prostate cancer specialists.

4. Margaret Boddie:

   Health literacy is a big issue in the older African American population because of how people were educated when they were young, my maternal grandmother, she had a third-grade education. My grandfather, he made it to the fifth grade. For many people, understanding the information that's put out, especially when it changes so often and people don't really understand why, is a challenge.

References

1. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_Literacy
2. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=health literacy