Health Literacy - wellbeing for all.

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Why Is Health Literacy More Important Than Ever Before?

• Health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, understand and apply health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions in ways which promote and maintain good health (World Health Organisation, 1998).
• Health literacy is more than being able to read pamphlets and successfully make appointments (Nutbeam, et al., 2018)
• Health literacy goes beyond the concept of health education and individual behaviour-orientated communication (Ishikawa & Kiuchi, 2010). 
• Health literacy is social determinant of health (Coughlin, et al., 2020; Kendir & Breton, 2020; Schillinger, et al., 2020)

Why is it important?

• Health literacy affects people’s ability to:
  • Navigate the healthcare system
  • Share personal and health information with providers
  • Engage in self-care and chronic disease management
  • Adopt health-promoting behaviours
  • Act on health-related news and announcements
• Health Literacy impacts:
• Health outcomes
• Healthcare costs 
• Quality of care 

Persons with limited health literacy skills have:

•        Higher utilization of treatment services
•        Hospitalization
•        Emergency services
•        Lower utilization of preventive services
•        Higher utilization of treatment services results in higher healthcare costs. 

“Good quality means providing patients with appropriate services, in a technically competent manner, with good communication, shared decision making, and cultural sensitivity.” (IOM. Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century. 2001).

Health Literacy is about understanding people.

• Health literacy is largely about health providers and policy makers and the messages that we think that it is important to convey (Liu, et al., 2020) and it should be considered from a bottom-up perspective focused on understanding people as lifelong learners and their differences. 
• It relates to all health decisions they make in their life (Batterham, et al., 2016)
• Health literacy is an individual knowledge, motivation and skill.
• The Deloitte 2020 Survey of US Health Care Consumers found that 21st century health care consumers are seeking to take more control over their own health, communicating with their doctors in new and different ways, and changing their attitudes about data privacy. 

Are we more or less likely to see empowered health care consumers?