Health Literacy: Disease Management and Clinical Practice Steps to Improve Patient Literacy Skills

Course Summary

Many adults have limited health literacy that can lead to poor health and increase burden upon the health system. Most medical consultations can be lengthy and involve verbal and written health communication. The majority of physicians hand out written patient education materials, yet it is estimated that the average adult in the United States has a basic grade school level of reading. There exists a discrepancy between how the average health provider communicates information to patients and what most of the patients are able to understand. Often health literacy is associated with a language or cultural barrier, however many individuals will have low literacy of health issues simply because they do not understand, are anxious or have pre-existing risk factors such as age and chronic comorbidities. National health organizations leading public health policy are developing clinical education and improved standards of patient care that promote more effective ways to communicate health information to patients across the literacy spectrum.