Health Literacy Ehealth And Communication

There is great enthusiasm over the use of emerging interactive health information technologies-often referred to as eHealth-and the potential these technologies have to improve the quality, capacity, and efficiency of the health care system. However, many doctors, advocacy groups, policy makers and consumers are concerned that electronic health systems might help individuals and communities with greater resources while leaving behind those with limited access to technology. In order to address this problem, the Institute of Medicine's Roundtable on Health Literacy held a workshop to explore the current status of communication technology, the challenges for its use in populations with low health literacy, and the strategies for increasing the benefit of these technologies for populations with low health literacy. The summary of the workshop, "Health Literacy, eHealth, and Communication: Putting the Consumer First," includes participants' comments on these issues.

Health literacy-the ability for individuals to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services to facilitate appropriate health decisions-is increasingly recognized as an important facet of health care and health outcomes. Although research on health literacy has grown tremendously in the past decade, there is no widely agreed-upon framework for health literacy as a determinant of health outcomes. Most instruments focus on assessing an individual's health literacy, yet the scope of health literacy reaches far beyond an individual's skills and abilities. Health literacy occurs in the context of the health care system, and therefore measures of health literacy must also assess the demands and complexities of the health care systems with which patients interact. For example, measures are needed to determine how well the system has been organized so that it can be navigated by individuals with different levels of health literacy and how well health organizations are doing at making health information understandable and actionable. To examine what is known about measures of health literacy, the Institute of Medicine convened a workshop. The workshop, summarized in this volume, reviews the current status of measures of health literacy, including those used in the health care setting; discusses possible surrogate measures that might be used to assess health literacy; and explores ways in which health literacy measures can be used to assess patient-centered approaches to care.

With patient experience at the forefront of health care, effective communication of health messages is critical to quality care. This book offers proven strategies to help providers clearly explain health information to a variety of audiences, from patients and caregivers, to students and the public.

Why do we need health literacy? Through a health promotion and social justice lens, Laurie Hoffman-Goetz, Lorie Donelle, and Rukhsana Ahmed describe health literacy as an increasingly important determinant of health and highlight the necessity of health literacy skills for ensuring equitable access to health care information and services. This core text offers a critical examination of how culture, ethnicity, social media applications, and the literacy and digital divides affect individuals' ability to secure health information, services, and support. Health Literacy in Canada will inform the way we respond to public health issues in Canada and around the world. This pedagogically rich and highly accessible text is ideal for use in upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in public health, health promotion, health communication, risk communication and perception, and gerontology. Features: contains extensive learning tools for students, including summaries of key points, questions for reflection, learning exercises, a glossary, and a list of additional resources provides a comprehensive review of fundamental health literacy concepts including definitions, models, and measurement tools emphasizes Canadian-centred examples of health literacy policy milestones offers concrete recommendations for improving health literacy in everyday settings

Increasing health literacy among patients is a difficult task as medical jargon and healthcare directions can be overwhelming and difficult to comprehend. In today’s digital world, people are more connected than ever before and have the ability to find healthcare information in a way that was not possible in recent years. Mass media and social media have become particularly influential in conveying health information to the public. With the amount of misinformation being spread, coupled with poor health literacy skills, it is imperative that new strategies and policies are undertaken to ensure that patients and the general public receive accurate information and are appropriately educated in order to provide them with the best possible knowledge and care. The Research Anthology on Improving Health Literacy Through Patient Communication and Mass Media provides an overview of the importance of health literacy and the various means to achieve health literacy for patients using several strategies and elements such as patient communication and mass media. The book covers health awareness challenges that have been faced recently and historically and pushes for better patient-provider communication. The book also examines the use of social media, virtual support groups, and technological tools that aid in the facilitation of health knowledge. Covering a range of key topics such as patient safety, health illiteracy, and eHealth, this anthology is crucial for healthcare professionals, researchers, academicians, students, and those interested in understanding the importance of health literacy and how it connects to media and communication.

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Health Literacy in Context—Settings, Media, and Populations" that was published in IJERPH

Advancing Health Literacy addresses the crisis in health literacy in the United States and around the world. This book thoroughly examines the critical role of literacy in public health and outlines a practical, effective model that bridges the gap between health education, health promotion, and health communication. Step by step, the authors outline the theory and practice of health literacy from a public health perspective. This comprehensive resource includes the history of health literacy, theoretical foundations of health and language literacy, the role of the media, a series of case studies on important topics including prenatal care, anthrax, HIV/AIDS, genomics, and diabetes. The book concludes with a series of practical guidelines for the development and assessment of health communications materials. Also included are essential techniques needed to help people make informed decisions, advocate for themselves and their community, mitigate risk, and live healthier lives.

This compact resource presents current data on health literacy as it affects child health outcomes, with a sharp focus on improving communication between healthcare providers and pediatric patients and their families. A frequently overlooked social determinant of health in children, health literacy is shown as a critical skill for patients and families and a key aspect of patient engagement. The authors’ evidence-based survey pinpoints common problems in healthcare providers’ verbal and written communication with pediatric patients, their parents, and/or caregivers. Readers will learn about practical health literacy strategies for addressing and preventing miscommunication at the individual and systems levels. These improvements are linked to immediate results (e.g., greater compliance, fewer medication errors) as well as improved long-term child health outcomes, including reduced health disparities and enhanced quality of life into adulthood. This transformative guide: Defines optimum health communication as necessary for working with all patients Identifies common barriers to clear health communication Traces the relationship between health literacy and child health outcomes, from the prenatal period and into young adulthood Offers guidelines for creating effective patient education materials and a safe, health literacy oriented patient-centered environment Integrates health literacy into health systems’ quality improvement plans Health Literacy and Child Health Outcomes informs students in MPH programs as well as public health scientists and scholars, and can also serve as an introductory text for students in public health ethics or a general applied ethics course. Public health professionals in diverse contexts such as local health departments and nonprofit organizations will appreciate its robust approach to ethical practice, professional development, and systems improvement. This will be a helpful guide for introducing health communication topics in medical education and allied health. Lastly, clinicians taking care of pediatric patients will find concise information and practical advice to apply in the clinical setting.