{"id":10801,"date":"2022-02-15T09:18:31","date_gmt":"2022-02-15T09:18:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thepublicationplan.com\/?p=10801"},"modified":"2022-02-15T09:18:31","modified_gmt":"2022-02-15T09:18:31","slug":"what-is-health-literacy-and-why-does-it-matter-insights-from-health-literacy-expert-becca-freed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thepublicationplan.com\/2022\/02\/15\/what-is-health-literacy-and-why-does-it-matter-insights-from-health-literacy-expert-becca-freed\/","title":{"rendered":"What is health literacy and why does it matter? Insights from health literacy expert Becca Freed"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In order to make informed healthcare decisions, patients and caregivers need to be able to understand medical information. This is often complex, and, as highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic, can also be contradictory and evolve rapidly. As medical communications professionals, we aim to ensure that we are providing our readers with appropriately written, understandable information. The Publication Plan spoke to Becca Freed, Associate Director, Health Literacy Communications at Health Research for Action, to find out how this goal can be achieved.<\/p>\n

Could you tell us a bit about <\/strong>Health Research for Action<\/strong><\/a> and how you came to be involved in health literacy?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHealth Research for Action (HRA) is a research centre within the School of Public Health at the University of California<\/a>, Berkeley. For more than 25 years, the researchers and communications professionals at HRA have conducted participatory research on health disparities, and designed interventions aimed at reducing those disparities. Often those interventions are patient education products.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a content strategist and the lead writer for HRA. After quite a few years of writing and editing in the tech field, I moved into the healthcare space because it allows me to use my communications skills to advocate for patients. When I evaluate or develop communications with a health literacy lens, I represent the voice of the patient.\u201d<\/p>\n

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When I evaluate or develop communications with a health literacy lens, I represent the voice of the patient.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Health literacy and health <\/strong>equity<\/strong><\/a> are often discussed together. How would you define these terms and how are the two interlinked?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHealth literacy is somewhat different for individuals, healthcare providers, and institutions. For individuals, it is the ability to access, understand, and use health information to support their own (or their loved ones\u2019) health. At HRA, we lean into the idea that helping people to be health literate helps them act as their own advocates in a healthcare encounter.<\/p>\n

For healthcare providers, health literacy means being aware of how they can help patients be health literate. A key part of this is giving patients information that is usable and accessible: that is, the right amount of information, at the right time, at the appropriate level of complexity. Doing this well requires empathy \u2013 the ability to put oneself in the patient\u2019s shoes.<\/p>\n

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For healthcare providers, health literacy means being aware of how they can help patients be health literate. A key part of this is giving patients information that is usable and accessible.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For institutions, health literacy is providing equal, easy, and shame-free access to (and delivery of) healthcare and health information. This requires examining the organisation for ways that the environment or interactions could hinder patients from getting what they need\u2014and working to remove those obstacles.<\/p>\n

Health equity is a broader concept that analyses how aspects of people\u2019s lives (social determinants such as race, education, quality of housing, environmental health hazards, access to food, and access to healthcare) affect their health. Health equity initiatives aim to lower or remove those population-level barriers to good health, so that everyone can have the best health possible for them.<\/p>\n

Promoting health literacy among individuals, healthcare providers, and institutions is a key factor in advancing health equity.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Promoting health literacy among individuals, healthcare providers, and institutions is a key factor in advancing health equity.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Can you tell us about the challenges faced by those with limited health literacy skills? How important are clear medical communications in empowering patients to make informed healthcare decisions?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cLow health literacy can make many aspects of healthcare and self-care difficult. It may mean difficulty reading and following instructions for taking medication, or difficulty understanding what lab results mean. It can mean feeling intimidated in the doctor\u2019s office or embarrassed to ask for a more detailed explanation of a procedure or instructions.<\/p>\n

Clear, non-shaming healthcare communications anticipate the questions that patients are likely to have about a condition, procedure, or medication. Good healthcare communications also encourage patients to ask questions and take an active role in their care.<\/p>\n

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Good healthcare communications also encourage patients to ask questions and take an active role in their care.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This can be done by incorporating interactive elements such as questionnaires or checklists into the communication. In a clinical encounter, it can include techniques like teach-back, where a practitioner asks a patient to repeat information back, in order to identify and correct misunderstandings.\u201d<\/p>\n

In your experience, how has the <\/strong>COVID-19<\/strong><\/a> pandemic impacted perceptions about the importance of health literacy?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cCOVID-19 has created a much wider awareness of health literacy issues (if not health literacy as a discipline), because now everyone, worldwide, needs to understand complex and rapidly changing information. We all want timely, reliable, and understandable information about how to keep ourselves, our families, and our communities safe.<\/p>\n

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COVID-19 has created a much wider awareness of health literacy issues\u2026 because now everyone, worldwide, needs to understand complex and rapidly changing information.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

We rely on government agencies and news outlets to translate bioscience research into understandable, actionable advice. Unfortunately, authoritative and accurate information is fighting with misinformation for mindshare, and often losing. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that the virus has mutated, and the infection-control advice has also had to evolve. Ideally, health communications are both clear and consistent. We\u2019ve had a hard time maintaining consistency, which has probably undermined the credibility of communications that might otherwise be trusted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Can you give us some tips on how to make complex information clear and understandable for an audience without being condescending or patronising? <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone benefits from information that is accessible and actionable, regardless of their reading skill. It\u2019s not patronising to use health literacy best practices to present content. These practices include:<\/p>\n