Health Literacy and Public Health: Introduction
What are some Reasons for limited literacy skills
- Lack of educational opportunities - English as a second language - Learning disabilities - Cognitive decline in older adults
What does civil literacy include?
- Media literacy skills - Knowledge of civic and governmental systems - Knowledge of power, inequity and other hierarchical relationships - Knowledge that personal behaviors and choices affect others
What are the four levels of literacy?
- Proficient - Intermediate - Basic - 29% US adults - Below Basic - 14% US adult
What kind of issues should you consider in providing culturally-sensitive messages about immunization?
- The beliefs about general health, medicine, and immunizations in the group's culture - The education level of the audience - Who generally makes health decisions for the family in a given culture
give some examples of public good vs. individual health
- fluoridated water- prevent dental disease vs some claim it causes health problems seat belt law - too much government vs high cost medical care
What is Health Literacy?
- wide range of skills and competencies that people develop over time - comprehension, evaluation, and use health information and concepts to make informed choices, reduce health risks, and increase quality of life.
A group of citizens has petitioned the county legislature to eliminate smoking in all beauty shops and barber shops. match with domain: a) fundamental b) scientific c) Civil d) Cultural
Civil
Citizens in a low-income neighborhood have asked the health department to test their air quality. They are gathering information to protest the trash-burning plant that has been placed in their area. match with domain: a) fundamental b) scientific c) Civil d) Cultural
Civil
What is Quantitative literacy?
Knowledge and skills required to perform quantitative tasks (i.e., to identify and perform computations using numbers embedded in printed materials)
Which of these statements are myths? A) People who have low literacy skills usually come from troubled backgrounds. B) Many people who cannot read and write are poor. C) Many people with low literacy have few skills that would benefit the community. D) Most people will never meet a person with low literacy skills. E) Most people who have low literacy skills lack education.
Myths: A, C, D, E
Does low literacy affect all groups equally?
No
Can you tell who has low or marginal literacy skills?
No. In general you cannot tell who has low literacy skills. This problem can be found at all levels of society
Literacy is taken for granted in many aspects of our society. low literacy can cause _________
Poor self-esteem
What are the 3 types of english literacy?
Prose literacy Document literacy Quantitative literacy
The local paper has published an article with the title "Chocolate shown to prevent heart attacks." Nutritionists question the methods and small sample size of the study this article describes. match with domain: a) fundamental b) scientific c) Civil d) Cultural
Scientific
What language, second to english, is the most spoken language at home?
Spanish
Names some areas of concern/focus a public health work would want to educate low literacy individuals on:
- Infectious disease and epidemics - Environmental health - Injury prevention - Access to health services - Emergency preparedness - Health promotion
Conclusion: A lack of health literacy can lead to many problems, including:
- Decreased ability to obtain health information - Poor individual health outcomes - Poor compliance with medical treatment - Lack of use of preventive services - Poor self-esteem - Increased individual healthcare costs
What are the domains of health literacy
- Fundamental literacy - Scientific literacy - Civic literacy - Cultural literacy
Which of the following are issues of fundamental health literacy that a public health practitioner might want to consider? A) Inability to read appointment slip B) Difficulty understanding verbal explanation of test results C) Inability to understand written test results
A, B, and C
which of these factors account for health disparities among minority women? A) Lack of education about preventive health behaviors B)Lack of women of color in clinical trials C)Stress of heading single-parent households D)Unemployment or work in low-paying jobs E)Discrimination by care providers F)Under-representation of minority and women practitioners in U.S. health care G)Lack of insurance
All
The inspector may need to convince the restaurant owner that, in addition to complying with the law, he/she has a responsibility to the public to practice safe food preparation and handling techniques. match with domain: a) fundamental b) scientific c) Civil d) Cultural
Civil
For some ethnic groups, it might be more effective to target health messages to men because they usually make the healthcare decisions for the family. match with domain: a) fundamental b) scientific c) Civil d) Cultural
Cultural
It is particularly important to communicate clearly in dealing with ethnic restaurants where owners may have limited skills in reading or writing English. Also the inspector must be sensitive to the fact that other cultures may have different ideas about safe food preparation. match with domain: a) fundamental b) scientific c) Civil d) Cultural
Cultural
The local health department is distributing brochures on mercury in fish in a number of languages. match with domain: a) fundamental b) scientific c) Civil d) Cultural
Cultural
The local health department is preparing instructions for people who will be coming to the annual flu shot clinics. They plan to write these directions so people with less than a seventh grade education will understand them. match with domain: a) fundamental b) scientific c) Civil d) Cultural
Cultural
Poor literacy skills often result in poor health outcomes for individuals.
Examples / facts: DM patients with low health literacy were more likely to have poor glycemic control low health literacy individuals fail to seek preventive care and are at more than double the risk for hospitalization. low health literacy individuals report poorer health status than people with better literacy skills.
The local health department is preparing instructions for people who will be coming to the annual flu shot clinics. They plan to write these directions so people with less than a seventh grade education will understand them. match with domain: a) fundamental b) scientific c) Civil d) Cultural
Fundamental
How does poor fundamental literacy relate to health literacy?
In healthcare, poor literacy can become life-threatening. Potentially harmful mistakes may happen when people cannot read or understand written information.
What is Prose literacy?
Knowledge and skills needed to search, comprehend, and use information from continuous text (books, newspapers, magazines, etc.)
What is Document literacy?
Knowledge and skills needed to search, comprehend, and use information from noncontinuous texts (charts, forms, etc.)
True or False Annual health costs for individuals with low health literacy skills are four times higher than for people with higher skills.
True
True or False people with low health literacy are less knowledgeable about early detection and treatment, preventive care, and routine primary care visits.
True - For instance, in one study, 39% of women reading at or below third grade level did not know why mammograms were recommended, compared with 12% of those who read at a high school level or higher
True or False People with low literacy skills often appear to be noncompliant with medical treatment.
True - they may not be able to read appointment slips or directions for medications
Does civil literacy include public health?
Yes - Civic literacy includes a core concept of public health that the public good may sometimes outweigh the individual's interests.
Can people with good literacy have poor health literacy?
Yes - They may not be able to read and understand technical, scientific, or medical information... trouble interpreting information and how it applies to their own situation.
Effect of low literacy skills
a person that can read some but not be able to comprehend even basic information they need to function at work or in their family life.
Even if you understand health information, you may not know how to respond to it.
example: pre-DM but does know how to control their diet
It is important that the inspector communicates clearly to the restaurant owner or manager, either verbally or in writing, so the owner knows what to do to correct any problems. match with domain: a) fundamental b) scientific c) Civil d) Cultural
fundamental
What is Civic literacy?
helps citizens become aware of public issues, participate in discussions about these issues, and become involved in decision-making processes related to these issues.
How does health literacy relate to public health?
it affects how public health messages reach groups as well as individuals. It is also important that healthcare providers and public health professionals themselves have good health literacy skills in order to successfully reach out to their constituents.
What is a coping strategy for someone that cannot read?
people might rely on a trusted relative or coworker to read for them or explain written materials they don't understand. This other person may not realize the person has low literacy skills.
Where do low literacy individual tend to get their health information?
radio, TV, people - sources that don't require reading
Functional literacy is...
the "ability to use printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one's goals, and to develop one's knowledge and potential." Example: reading road signs, filling out job aps, taking driver licence exam...
Fundamental literacy
the ability to read, write, speak and use numbers
What is Cultural literacy?
the ability to recognize, understand and use the collective beliefs, customs, world-view, and social identity of diverse individuals to interpret and act on information
what is Scientific literacy?
the ability to understand how science research works and interpret the results of research. ie - is it an accurate study, is it a good source, is it bias
What is an issue for public good vs. individual health?
there is sometimes tension btw protecting the public and preserving individual rights. laws or regulations have been put in place to deal with the controversy.
