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Health Literacy Principles During Older Americans Month
May
is Older Americans Month and a good time to remind both health care providers
and caregivers to always use health literacy principles when caring for older
adults.
Implementing
health literacy strategies will benefit all individuals, however, special
considerations for clear communication with older adults include accommodating
visual, hearing, and cognitive changes.
Older
adults (over 65) are the fastest growing population in the United States.
Precisely at the moment that health issues tend to increase in many older
adults, health literacy skills begin to decrease. Changes in memory and
cognition abilities, vision, and hearing all impact the ability to understand,
recall, and act upon information.
The
National Assessment of Adult Literacy
(NAAL) reports exactly how many older adults struggle with understanding
different methods of communication:
➤ 71%
of adults older than age 60 had difficulty in using print materials
➤ 80%
had difficulty using documents such as forms or charts
➤ 68%
had difficulty with interpreting numbers and doing calculations
Health
2015:
Health Literacy & Patient Engagement, 12th Annual, US
HHS Sep 2015
2011:
Health Literacy Interventions Outcomes, AHRQ
2010:
Health Literacy, NNLM
2010:
Health Literacy: Accurate Accessible Actionable Health Info. for All, CDC
2009:
Reaching America’s Health Potential Among Adults, RWJ Foundation
2009:
Low Health Literacy, NAAL
2003
2004:
Literacy and Health in America, ETS
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