The Evolution Of Health Literacy

Physicians have long pledged to adhere to four basic moral principles, a concise framework for the larger field of medical ethics. As is commonly known, those values consist of autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. However, in order to advocate for these principles for patients, medical professionals must first ensure patients have appropriate medical resources from which to glean information. This book serves to underscore this concept and advance the field of patient education -- Provided by the publisher.

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

Promotes verbal and written communication strategies that nurses can use to effectively meet the individualized needs of an increasingly diverse patient population in an effort to enhance patient-provider communication across the entire continuum of care.

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.

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.

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.

To date, most published health literacy research has focused on assessing and improving personal skills and abilities. More recently, a better understanding has emerged of the extent to which these skills and abilities are mediated by environmental demands and situational complexities - the context in which health literacy is developed and applied. This has led to much greater attention being given to ways of reducing the situational demands and complexity in which an individual makes a health decision. This collection of papers examines current progress in understanding health literacy "in context", by improving our understanding of the mutual impact of a range of social, economic, environmental, and organisational influences on health literacy. These papers provide unique and original perspectives on the concept, distribution, and application of health literacy in very diverse populations, offering cultural insights and a clear indication of the impact of social and environmental context on health literacy. These perspectives include an examination of differing national policy responses to health literacy illustrating how policy and practice can (and should) respond to this more complete but complex understanding of health literacy. Other papers look at the application of new digital media and the creative harnessing of popular culture as routes to extend the reach and customisation of communications. These papers also illustrate good progress in the evolution of research in the contexts in which health literacy is developed and applied, as well as signaling some areas in which more research would be useful.

To maintain their own health and the health of their families and communities, consumers rely heavily on the health information that is available to them. This information is at the core of the partnerships that patients and their families forge with today's complex modern health systems. This information may be provided in a variety of forms â€" ranging from a discussion between a patient and a health care provider to a health promotion advertisement, a consent form, or one of many other forms of health communication common in our society. Yet millions of Americans cannot understand or act upon this information. To address this problem, the field of health literacy brings together research and practice from diverse fields including education, health services, and social and cultural sciences, and the many organizations whose actions can improve or impede health literacy. Health Literacy: Prescription to End Confusion examines the body of knowledge that applies to the field of health literacy, and recommends actions to promote a health literate society. By examining the extent of limited health literacy and the ways to improve it, we can improve the health of individuals and populations.