Page 31 - ASCO Cultural Competency Toolkit

Identifying and Addressing Health Literacy
Health literacy is integral to improving the health of communities. There are two main categories of health literacy to consider: personal health literacy and organizational health literacy. Personal health literacy is related to an individual’s ability to discover, understand, and apply health information to make decisions for their health and the health of others. Organizational health literacy refers to the ability of an organization to equitably enable others to discover, understand, and apply health information to make decisions for their health and the health of others. As a healthcare clinician, it is important to understand the health literacy level of our patients as we partner with them and to provide the support they need so that they are able to make appropriate health care decisions in a language that they understand. (CDC, 2022)
Although poor overall literacy can negatively impact health literacy, someone can have a high literacy level and still have a low health literacy. Many factors impact health literacy, including education, language spoken, ability to interpret written health information, receiving appropriate written health- related materials, and health behaviors. People with lower health literacy tend to be at greater risk for poor health outcomes and increased healthcare costs. Due to their higher percentage of low health literacy and increased utilization of health services, seniors may be impacted by reduced health literacy more than any other group (CDC, 2022). Health literacy problems, for example, can occur when someone is scared because they were diagnosed with a condition, limiting their ability to listen to and understand the medical jargon their healthcare clinician is using. We can create health literacy problems when we give patients health information that is too difficult for them to understand, or we depend on them to figure out health services that are complicated, confusing, and unfamiliar without providing adequate assistance. (CDC, 2022)
There are several tools to assess the health literacy levels of patients, although there is not an eye care-specific tool currently available. A variety of tools can be found at the Health Literacy Tool Shed from the National Institutes of Health. Having a better understanding of a patient's level of health literacy will help the clinician tailor and adapt their language and communication to meet the educational needs of the patient. Clear communication guidelines apply to written material too. Patient education materials need to be written with short sentences, simple words, and clear language. The Simply Put guide from the Centers for Disease Control provides a comprehensive framework to organize and use language and visuals for patient education.
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