October is Health Literacy Month, but what does this mean? Health literacy is how easily understandable health information is to the average consumer. Effective health communication includes both verbal and nonverbal communication. This includes direct communication between providers and patients, and resources that are given to patients i.e. slideshows that include both audio and text captions. By spreading health literacy awareness, organizations and individuals are advocating for health information and services to be more accessible and understandable for all individuals.
Why is Health Literacy Important?
Health literacy is important to both individuals and organizations for many reasons. Increasing health literacy encourages a patient-centered approach to care. This means eliminating all communication barriers that may exist and delivering information in a clear and culturally sensitive manner. By increasing the literacy levels of health information, the likelihood of all individuals receiving positive health outcomes increases. NOC makes health literacy a priority through the use of language translation programs like Propio, allowing service animals, using common language, and more.
Common Communication Barriers
- Medical Language: Evaluate whether the words that are being used are conducive for all individuals’ understanding. Use common, everyday language whenever possible.
- Language Differences: Language barriers can make effective communication very difficult. Many healthcare organizations use translation services to eliminate this barrier.
- Cultural Differences: Different cultures use different practices. Understanding one another’s cultural backgrounds promotes trustworthiness.
- Disabilities and Other Challenges: Disabilities and other challenges can make it difficult to communicate about health. Consider this when assessing the accessibility of healthcare communication.
- Complexity: Health topics are very complex, thus it may be difficult to simplify for the average consumer.
Resources
For more resources on what health literacy means to organizations and individuals, and how you can spread awareness, visit healthliteracysolutions.org.