Health Literacy: What It Is and Why It Matters ▬ COVID-19 ▬ MedTruth

Health Literacy: What It Is and Why It Matter

Health Literacy

MedTruth: 10.01.2020 by Sarah Digiulio

A lot of factors contribute to our risks for certain illnesses and chronic conditions, and how well we manage if and when we do get sick. Our ability to access and understand health information, also known as “health literacy,” is one of these important factors.

Unfortunately, nearly 36% of U.S. adults have low health literacy. The good news is that while many risk factors for disease, such as genetics, are beyond our individual control, our level of health literacy is something that we can always improve.

According to the National Library of Medicine, health literacy is “The degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.”

Health literacy is affected by individual characteristics such as age, education level and communication skills, but it also depends upon how clearly health information is delivered — whether that information is spoken, written or visual, Rima Rudd, senior lecturer on health literacy, education, and policy at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public health, told MedTruth.

There are some problems with the way information is being communicated about COVID-19, Rudd said. For instance, complex charts and graphs are popping up in the media and from health groups without explanation of what they mean, and terms like ‘flatten the curve’ are not ones the average adult has come across before.   READ MORE ➤➤

 

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