Health literacy

(noun)

Health literacy is an individual's ability to read, understand and use healthcare information to make decisions and follow instructions for treatment.

Related Terms

Examples of Health literacy in the following topics:

  • Education and Health

    • Health literacy is of continued and increasing concern for health professionals, as it is a primary factor behind health disparities.
    • There are many factors that determine the health literacy level of health education materials or other health interventions.
    • Health literacy skills are not only a problem in the public.
    • Health care professionals (doctors, nurses, public health workers) can also have poor health literacy skills, such as a reduced ability to clearly explain health issues to patients and the public.
    • The eHealth literacy model is also referred to as the Lily model, which incorporates the following literacies, each of which are instrumental to the overall understanding and measurement of eHealth literacy: basic literacy, computer literacy, information literacy, media literacy, science literacy, health literacy.

  • Health Disparities

    • While technology has advanced the practice of medicine and generally improved health, not all people have the same access to health care or the same quality of health care.
    • According to the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S., health disparities are the "population-specific differences in the presence of disease, health outcomes, or access to health care".
    • The health financing system.
    • Low Health literacy.
    • While problems with health literacy are not limited to minority groups, the problem can be more pronounced in these groups than in whites due to socioeconomic and educational factors.

  • Types of Social Mobility

    • However, it may also refer to changes in health status, literacy rate, education, or other variables among groups such as classes, ethnic groups, or countries.
    • An example of absolute social mobility is when a region's economic development provides education to a social group that previously did not have access to education, thus raising the group's literacy level and socioeconomic status.

  • Social Mobility

    • However, it may also refer to changes in health status, literacy rate, education, or other variables among groups, such as classes, ethnic groups, or countries.
    • An example of absolute social movement is when a region's economic development provides quality education to a social group that previously did not have access to education, thus raising the group's literacy level and socioeconomic status.

  • Least Industrialized Countries

    • HDI considers a country's per capita gross domestic product (GDP), per capita income, rate of literacy, life expectancy, basic infrastructure, and other factors affecting standard of living to determine how developed a country is.
    • Human resource weakness, based on indicators of nutrition, health, education, and literacy

  • Demographic Transition Theory

    • For example, numerous improvements in public health reduce mortality, especially childhood mortality.
    • Prior to the mid-20th century, these improvements in public health were primarily in the areas of food handling, water supply, sewage, and personal hygiene.
    • Another variable often cited is the increase in female literacy combined with public health education programs which emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

  • Educational Reform in the U.S.

    • Starting in the twentieth century, people have attempted to argue that small improvements in education can have large returns in such areas as health, wealth and well being.
    • For example, in developing countries, increases in women's literacy rates were correlated with increases in women's health, and increasing primary education was correlated with increasing farming efficiencies and income.
    • He argued that progressive education failed to teach "cultural literacy," the facts, phrases, and texts that Hirsch asserted every American had once known and were still essential for decoding basic texts and maintaining communication.

  • Aging and Health

    • While aging is often associated with declining health, current research suggests there are some things people can do to remain healthy longer into old age.
    • For instance, maintaining a positive attitude has been shown to be correlated with better health among the elderly.
    • Older individuals with more positive attitudes and emotions engage in less risky behavior and have lower levels of stress, both of which are correlated with better health.

  • Colonialism and Neocolonialism

    • According to some Marxist historians, in all of the colonial countries ruled by Western European countries, indigenous people were robbed of health and opportunities.
    • Peripheral countries are usually agrarian and have low literacy rates and lack Internet connection in many areas.

  • Gender Inequality in Health Care

    • Gender discrimination in health care could be changing in the United States.
    • In January of 2012, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, announced that all health care plans were required to provide coverage for contraceptives approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
    • Whereas services for male reproductive health, such as Viagra, are considered to be a standard part of health care, women's reproductive health services are called into question.
    • In the context of the 2012 contraceptive mandate debate, health care professionals' assessments that contraception is an integral component for women's health care, regardless of sexual activity, went largely unaddressed.
    • This bill is seen as a vital step in combating gender inequalities in the health care system.