Health Literacy
The degree to which individuals can find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.
Health literacy is the degree to which individuals can find, understand and be able to use the information and services to inform their health decisions. Health literacy has an enormous impact on an individual's health. Those who don't have health literacy are at a higher risk for death: “Patients who are unable to successfully interpret health information have increased hospitalization rates, develop more diseases, and experience higher mortality rates” (Hickey, K. T, 2018). Organizational health literacy evaluates how institutions facilitate equitable access to health information for decision-making.
Together, these dimensions empower individuals to navigate health information, understand medical advice, and make informed choices about well-being. This holistic approach ensures that both individuals and organizations contribute to a society where health-related decisions are well-informed and inclusive, promoting overall well-being and community health (What is health literacy? 2023).
Key Points and Resources
References
Assessing and Addressing health literacy | OJIN: The online journal of Issues in Nursing. (n.d.). https://ojin.nursingworld.org/table-of-contents/volume-14-2009/number-3-september-200 9/assessing-health-literacy-/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, July 11). What is health literacy?. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/healthliteracy/learn/index.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, June 21). Measuring skills and experiences.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/healthliteracy/researchevaluate/measure-peoples-skills-experiences. html
Cristofori, E., Zeffiro, V., Alvaro, R., D’Agostino, F., Zega, M., & Cocchieri, A. (2022, March 7). Health literacy in patients’ clinical records of hospital settings: A systematic review. SAGE open nursing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8905211/
Health Literacy | HRSA. (2022, October 1). https://www.hrsa.gov/about/organization/bureaus/ohe/health-literacy
Helping patients improve their health literacy: Effective strategies for nurses and nurse managers. (2023, July 12). Bradley University Online. https://onlinedegrees.bradley.edu/blog/helping-patients-improve-their-health-literacy-effe ctive-strategies-for-nurses-and-nurse-managers/
Hickey, K. T., Masterson Creber, R. M., Reading, M., Sciacca, R. R., Riga, T. C., Frulla, A. P., & Casida, J. M. (2018, August). Low health literacy: Implications for managing cardiac patients in practice. The Nurse practitioner. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6391993/
Hogan, A., Hughes, L. J., & Coyne, E. (2023). Nurses’ assessment of health literacy requirements for adult inpatients: An integrative review. Health Promotion Journal of Australia. https://doi.org/10.1002/hpja.780
Mahadevan, A. R., Authors:, & Mahadevan, R. (2023, May 22). Health Literacy Fact Sheets. Center for Health Care Strategies. https://www.chcs.org/resource/health-literacy-fact-sheets/
National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy | Health.gov. (n.d.). https://health.gov/our-work/national-health-initiatives/health-literacy/national-action-plan-improve-health-literacy
Seidel, E., Cortez, T., & Chong, C. (2023, August 30). Strategies to improve Organizational Health Literacy. PSNet. https://psnet.ahrq.gov/primer/strategies-improve-organizational-health-literacy