Health Literacy

Health Literacy PDF Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309133319
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 366

Book Description
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.

Health Literacy From A to Z

Health Literacy From A to Z PDF Author: Helen Osborne
Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Publishers
ISBN: 1449600530
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 282

Book Description
With patient experience at the forefront of health care, effective communication of health messages is critical to quality care. This book offers proven strategies to help providers clearly explain health information to a variety of audiences, from patients and caregivers, to students and the public.

International Handbook of Health Literacy

International Handbook of Health Literacy PDF Author: Ullrich Bauer
Publisher: Policy Press
ISBN: 1447344537
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 768

Book Description
Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. Health literacy addresses a range of social dimensions of health, including knowledge, navigation and communication, as well as individual and organizational skills for accessing, understanding, evaluating and using information. Particularly over the past decade, health literacy has globally become a major public health concern as an asset for promoting health, wellbeing and sustainable development. This comprehensive handbook provides an invaluable overview of current international thinking about health literacy, highlighting cutting edge research, policy and practice in the field. With a diverse team of contributors, the book addresses health literacy across the life-span and offers insights from different populations and settings. Providing a wide range of major findings, the book outlines current discourse in the field and examines necessary future dialogues and new perspectives.

Health Literacy in Clinical Practice and Public Health

Health Literacy in Clinical Practice and Public Health PDF Author: R.A. Logan
Publisher: IOS Press
ISBN: 1643680757
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 616

Book Description
“Health literacy is the ultimate global currency of health and well-being. Without health literacy, medicine fails, public health fails, and people pay the cost for these failures with their lives. As this book goes to press, the world is confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Improving health literacy becomes increasingly important if we are to successfully confront the challenges that stress our systems of medicine and public health like never before.” (Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., FACS, former Surgeon General of the United States, in his foreword to this book.) Two years ago, HTI published the book Health Literacy: New Directions in Research, Theory and Practice. Together with that earlier volume, this book: Health Literacy in Clinical Practice and Public Health: New Initiatives and Lessons Learned at the Intersection with other Disciplines, strives to enumerate and expand our understanding of the multidisciplinary connections which underpin the field of health literacy. The book’s balance between research and practice is a response to the feedback the editors received about the previous publication, which focused more on HL theory and research. With reports of specific health literacy research initiatives and interventions, particularly in clinical practice and public health, the book covers contemporary health literacy research and practice and is divided into three sections. Section one explores health literacy’s capacity to foster progress in clinical practice and public health; section two provides insights into health literacy initiatives and lessons learned from diverse healthcare stakeholders; and section three examines health literacy’s similarities with – and differences from – related health research disciplines. The book sets the practice and research of health literacy on an evidence-based, thoughtful, effective, efficient, and applied course. As Dr Richard Carmona says in his foreword: “It is enthusiastically recommended for all health and medical practitioners and researchers.”

Measures of Health Literacy

Measures of Health Literacy PDF Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309139805
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 142

Book Description
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.

Health Literacy in Context- Settings, Media, and Populations

Health Literacy in Context- Settings, Media, and Populations PDF Author: Don Nutbeam
Publisher: MDPI
ISBN: 3038974714
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 251

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

Health Literacy

Health Literacy PDF Author: R.A. Logan
Publisher: IOS Press
ISBN: 161499790X
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 496

Book Description
While health literacy is a relatively new multidisciplinary field, it is vital to the successful engagement with and communication of health with patients, caregivers, and the public. This book ‘New Directions in Health Literacy Research, Theory, and Practice’ provides an introduction to health literacy research and practice and highlights similar scholarship in related disciplines. The book is organized as follows: the first chapter explains the still-evolving definition of health literacy; the next three chapters discuss developments and new directions in health literacy research, then a further two chapters are devoted to developments and new directions in health literacy theory. Two chapters explore health literacy interventions for vulnerable populations; four chapters cover health literacy leadership efforts; six chapters describe developments and new directions in disciplines that are similar to health literacy; and six chapters portray diverse health literacy practices. A preface from Richard Carmona M.D., the former U.S. Surgeon General, is included in the book. Although the book is intended primarily for health literacy researchers, practitioners and students, the diverse topics and approaches covered will be of interest to all healthcare and public health researchers, practitioners, and students, as well as scholars in related fields, such as health communication, science communication, consumer health informatics, library science, health disparities, and mass communication. As Dr. Carmona concludes in his preface: ‘This is essential reading for all health practitioners.’

Health Literacy

Health Literacy PDF Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309283329
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 367

Book Description
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.

Health literacy and disease prevention, volume II

Health literacy and disease prevention, volume II PDF Author: Sudip Bhattacharya
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 2832545645
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 248

Book Description
This Research Topic is a follow on from the Topic Editors' successful volume I. The term “health literacy” was coined by Ratzan et al. in the 1970s providing the minimal health education required in schools, however this term is almost new and in the early phase of development. Though many attempts have been made in the past to define health literacy, WHO construed it as “the cognitive and social skills which determine the motivation and ability of individuals to gain access to, understand and use information in ways which promote and maintain good health.” Health literacy not only focuses on the individual behavior oriented communication but also on the various determinants of health such as environmental, social, and political factors, thus it is ahead in the concept of health education. If health education methods go beyond the bounds of “information diffusion” and bring about interaction, participation, and critical analysis, such kind of approach will lead to improved health literacy, personal aid, and social benefit by enabling adequate community action and contributions to the advancement of social capital.

Growing Community Health Literacy through Libraries

Growing Community Health Literacy through Libraries PDF Author: Prudence W. Dalrymple
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110362643
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 313

Book Description
The capacity to understand and communicate health information is a major international health concern. Sponsored by the Health and Biosciences Section of International Federation of Library Associations, this book highlights the contribution that librarians are making to improving health literacy and enabling citizens to be active participants in the management of their own health. Knowledge is power and the World Health Organization recognizes that health literacy, involving effective access to and understanding of health information, is essential to health and well-being in society by empowering and enabling citizens to participate in their own healthcare. The book presents inspiring studies from an international group of authors showing how libraries and librarians are partnering with diverse sectors of society including universities, hospitals, public health clinics, community-based organisations, voluntary bodies and government agencies, to help citizens understand and manage their health. It provides guidance by example to suggest how libraries can help citizens participate in their healthcare and their communities by collaborating with others to increase health literacy in society.