Happy Health Literacy Month!

I would like to start off Health Literacy Month by saying Thank You to everyone who has commented on my blog. Dr. Engleberg will be happy, too.

Now on to the issue: What is health literacy and why is it important? Let me start with a scenario. Have you ever had a doctor's visit where a doctor or nurse explained something to you and then they asked you if you understood everything. You told them you did...but then you ran home and jumped on the internet or called a friend to ask them to explain what the doctor told you? I sure have. This scenario happens numerous times a day. It could range from small things like what time to take medication to accidentally signing up for a hysterectomy.

Health literacy by definition is the degree to which individual's have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. It has been reported that 50% of the U.S. population does not have the literacy level to fully function in the current economy, let alone understand medical terminology that impacts their life. This is a huge issue!

In my opinion, there are two ways to combat this problem.
1. Medical professionals (and everyone relaying health information) needs to modify their language so that it is understandable to the majority of the population. The difference between telling someone their tumor is "not cancer" versus "benign" is a huge step in the right direction.

2. Health professionals need to make patients feel comfortable enough that they wouldn't feel inadequate or "dumb" if they ask a question or explain that they don't understand the inofrmation given to them.

There is a large movement in the U.S. that wants to combat this issue with "PLAN LANGUAGE." This means clear, concise, necessary health information that can be understood by the general population. You can find more information about the Plain Language movement at this website: http://www.plainlanguage.gov/populartopics/health_literacy/index.cfm


Just to recap the last few weeks of class...

I think the main take away message was the importance of knowing your target audience and being able to accurately segment them. This concept is possibly the most important idea for a health campaign because if you can't connect with who you are aiming your messages at, it doesn't really matter what you are saying.