Health literacy matters. It touches all aspects of healthcare. Low literacy rates account for poorer outcomes, poorer overall health, mortality, morbidity, etc. As you can imagine, if you are underserved, marginalized, under or uninsured, the outcomes are worse.
I have been teaching within the walls of organizations for years. It is my mission and passion to move into the community and direct my energy and efforts to individuals who enter health systems at every level.
Listen
We first have to start listening. Hearing the patient's story, hearing how the patient tells their story is fundamental to understanding who they are, and what "in their words", is going on. Most important, but often missed, listening will provide insight on how patients give and receive information.
Collaborate
Providing care is a partnership. Patients want to be partners. When collaboration is sought, conditions have a better chance of being improved. Successful organizations and provider practices who join forces with patients, will achieve better and measurable outcomes.
Educate
The term "health literacy" naturally points towards education. "Literacy" and "health literacy" are not the same. You cannot tell how health literate a patient is by looking, assuming or even knowing their educational level. One in twelve patients are health literate. The Agency for health Research and Quality (AHRQ) developed a Universal Precautions Toolkit for that reason. Not only do we have to reduce the complexity of healthcare, we also have to empower patients with the knowledge of evidence-based tools to help them navigate the system.
Below is the HealthSpeak framework developed to identify the effects of health illiteracy on the predictors of health.
