Low Health Literacy in Heart Disease Patients - Research Proposal Example

Low Health Literacy in Heart Disease Patients of the of the Low Health Literacy in Heart Disease Patients Poor health literacy affects several aspects of health, such as the safety of patients, the quality of health care and positive health outcomes for patients. Low health literacy diminishes the awareness of the patient, with respect to their medical condition. Thus, patients with low health literacy will be more likely to forget the medicines they had taken. They will also find it difficult to adhere to medical schedules and be beset with other associated problems. Some of these problems are increased mortality, increased risk of hospitalization, and decreased mental health (Evangelista, et al., 2010, p. 9). Consequently, low health literacy has to be identified and clinical practice should include the necessary interventions that deal with low health literacy. The importance of health literacy and its effects on human health gained considerable recognition in the 1990s. It was identified that good communication was significant in the health management of patients. Such communication should be developed between health care professionals and the patients and their relatives (Evangelista, et al., 2010, p. 9). It ensures the safety of patients and enhances the quality of health care. In the absence of proper communication, it is not possible to achieve optimal health care. The combination of low health literacy and lack of communication leads to serious health problems, such as increased risk of safety. This is because low health literacy deprives a patient, with chronic disease, of self-care skills. Institutes like the Heart Failure Society of America and the American College of Cardiology, and the American Heart Association stressed the importance of educating the patient about self-care methods (Evangelista, et al., 2010, p. 9). These methods are an essential component of the heart failure disease management programs. Therefore, health literacy is very important for patients with heart disease. Patients should understand and apply the provisions of the health literacy, in order to obtain the desired health outcomes (Evangelista, et al., 2010, p. 9). In the US, low literacy is a major problem. In the late 1990s, there were around forty million adults with a score that was accorded level 1 of the National Adult Research Survey (NALS). Level 1 is the lowest of the five levels of the NALS. This was complemented by another fifty million adults who were designated as level 2 individuals on the NALS (Berkman, et al., 2004). These literacy levels determine the capacity of individuals to understand information or numbers. In the healthcare setting, literacy is of great importance. Patients with low literacy may find it difficult to communicate with their physicians, which would compromise the quality of medical care received by them. Low literacy makes it difficult for patients to understand the instructions given by the physician; and result in adverse health outcomes, and undesirable health effects (Berkman, et al., 2004). Lack of communication capacity, due to low literacy will result in the obtention of inferior quality treatment. It is essential to be aware of health issues. This requires a clear understanding of health information. Such comprehension is termed health literacy. The American Medical Association states that health literacy is an indicator of the personal health of individuals. Health literacy varies from person to person (Glassman, 2010). Thus, persons with poor health literacy do not give much importance to their personal health. According to the Institute of Medicine, more than half the people in the US consider it difficult to understand and use health information. Most of the patients in the US fail to follow medical schedules, on account of poor health literacy. They fail to take medicines as prescribed and fail to keep their appointment with doctors (Glassman, 2010). Interaction is an important aspect of healthcare area. It normally transpires in the offices of doctors, clinics, and hospitals. Patients have to interact actively, with regard to a vast array of health related information, and comprehend medical instructions. Health literacy is indispensable for a better understanding of the patient education materials, prescriptions, bills, and insurance forms (McCray, 2005, p. 155). Moreover, patients are being advised to assume greater responsibility for their healthcare and disease management. The healthcare system has undergone considerable modernization, and health care providers, expect patients to keep themselves abreast of these developments. It is essential for patients to interact with this intricate and technologically challenging environment, whilst seeking healthcare and the information to be processed is overwhelming. Many patients are in favor of this environment, which enables them to acquire considerable knowledge about their health condition (McCray, 2005, p. 155). However, these patients find the information requirements to be prodigious. According to the Institute of Medicine report, reading, writing, and numeracy skills have now become very important for those seeking modern healthcare. As such, health literacy provides patients with the wherewithal to understand the growing complexities of the healthcare system and to access the advances and discoveries in this area. Patients with low health literacy levels find it difficult to access adequate healthcare, to understand information about their disease, and to follow the instructions given by their physicians (McCray, 2005, p. 155). Moreover, patients with low health literacy are found to harbor health beliefs that interfere with effective healthcare and promote poor problem-solving capabilities. The 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy disclosed that approximately seventy-five million adults, in the US, had low health literacy. Patients are required to have basic reading and comprehension skills, in order to access quality health care. In a research study conducted in 1997, researchers had interviewed 3,260 patients in the age group of 65 years and older. These respondents were questioned about their race, ethnicity, education, income, health behaviors, and chronic medical conditions (Northwestern University, 2007). Thereafter the respondents were requested to participate in a test of health literacy. This test included reading passages and health materials, and its objective was to assess the understanding of these respondents with regard to the literature printed on medicine containers, such as pill bottles (Northwestern University, 2007). The researchers repeated this study in the year 2003, and collected information about the respondents who had died after the first interview conducted in 1997. The results of these studies indicated that healthcare providers had to educate patients with low health literacy, in order to enhance their health. As is well known, mental functions depict a gradual decline after the age of thirty years. Health literacy is helpful for patients in their late middle age and older. Elderly patients were seen to have much lesser capacity to comprehend what they had read (Northwestern University, 2007). These studies have established the need to improve measures to provide better health education and communication, which are essential for accessing healthcare. Research studies have established that nearly fifty percent of the adults in the US have low health literacy. This lack of adequate health literacy prevents them from accessing quality health care. Moreover, lower health literacy indicates a poor health status, low health care knowledge, and inferior self-efficiency (Morrow, et al., 2006, p. 669). It also causes such individuals to suffer from adverse health outcomes and increased hospitalization. References Berkman, N. D., DeWalt, D. A., Pignone, M. P., Sheridan, S. L., Lohr, K. N., Lux, L., et al. (2004, January). Literacy and Health Outcomes. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Evangelista, L. S., Rasmusson, K. D., Laramee, A. S., Barr, J., Ammon, S. E., Ziesche, S., et al. (2010). Literacy and the Patient With Heart Failure—Implications for Patient Care and Research: A Consensus Statement of the Heart Failure Society of America. Journal of Cardiac Failure, 16(1), 9 – 16. Glassman, P. (2010, September 14). Health Literacy. Retrieved March 7, 2011, from National Network of Libraries of Medicine: http://nnlm.gov/outreach/consumer/hlthlit.html McCray, A. T. (2005, March). Promoting Health Literacy. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 12(2), 152 – 163. Morrow, D., Clark, D., Tu, W., Wu, J., Weiner, M., Steinley, D., et al. (2006). Correlates of Health Literacy in Patients With Chronic Heart Failure. The Gerontologist, 46(5), 669 – 676. Northwestern University. (2007, July 26). Low Literacy Equals Early Death Sentence. Retrieved March 9, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070723160224.htm Read More