Health Literacy: A Brief Introduction

Abstract

Clear and effective communication is a fundamental component of quality healthcare. Beginning with the most basic clinical encounter, healthcare providers seek to elicit information, answer questions, explain diagnoses, and offer instructions for possible medical or behavioral intervention. Patients and families, in turn, are expected to be able to provide an accurate account of behaviors or symptoms and both raise and answer pertinent questions within a medical and social history taking process. Beyond the clinician visit, patients must remember what transpired during the interaction in order to make appropriate decisions. In addition to this interpersonal exchange, information about recommended health behaviors, promotion for self-care, treatment decision making, or even directions for navigating a particular health system are conveyed using various health technologies. Patients and families are expected to be able to use available communication tools, which may range in complexity; from print forms, brochures, and telephone, to interactive video programs, electronic health record ˵patient portals″, and the Internet. In this chapter, we review the meaning of health literacy, its associations with health outcomes and recommended approaches for intervention. A conceptual framework deconstructing the health literacy skill set is specifically identified and guidance offered for incorporating this relatively new construct into the design of robust and complimentary strategies applicable to the field of behavioral medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]