Introduction
There has been a significant increase in the interest of health literacy as a field of study. Recent research indicates that low levels of health literacy are prevalent in the general population, in Western countries. People with inadequacy in comprehending health information materials may find it difficult to make good use of such materials. As a result, more weight is needed on the health literacy by conducting vigorous research on the area to improve health care provision to the growing community. The study analyses patient education materials about reading level among the public.
Reading level of patient education materials
People who have access to health care systems at different locations are often given patient education materials (PEMs) pertaining to their conditions or treatment needed. The consumers are required to comprehend the information well before using them. This will ensure that the materials are used more efficiently towards providing appropriate health care services. Reading level determines how one is capable of understanding the words irrespective of the sentence length. While finding out the reading level of PEM, various tools can be used which include the SMOG (Statistical Measure of Gobbledygook)? In this case, analysis of a sentence and words are done to establish how hard they are in the text. For this study, SMOG has been chosen to determine the reading level in PEMs.
According to Freda (2006), Statistical Measure of Gobbledygook is among the simplest methods, which can be used to determine the reading level of any written material. Several calculations are performed without using computer programs. A sample of sentences is obtained from the start, middle, and end of the text. After w...
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...e minutes according to Davis et al. (2008), while it takes 5 to 6 minutes (Doak, Doak & Root, 2001).
In conclusion, reading level of individuals in any given population is paramount to understanding the content of patient education materials. Other demographic factors need also be put into consideration to ensure efficient and effective provision of PEMs. When developing patient education materials much care must be considered or else the material will become of no use to the target audience.
Works Cited
Davis T.C, Long S.W, Jackson R.H, et al. (2008).Rapid estimate of adult literacy in medicine: a shortened screening instrument. Fam Med. 25:391–395.
Doak L, Doak C.C, Root J.H. (2001).Teaching Patients With Low Literacy Skills. London: Dorling Kindersley.
Freda M.C. (2006). Defining and measuring health literacy, Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia.
...s, K.D., London, F. (2005). Patient education in health and illness (5th ed.). New York: Lippincott.
The title of the book that I have chosen to review is called What Patients Taught Me: A Medical Student’s Journey, the title related to the topic on hand which is about medical rotations in faraway locations that are uncivilized and even remote. The book was published in 2009, and this is significant because it can be relatable to those that are entering the medical field and want a novel that shows the experience and what they have to do for them to become medical professionals. The company Sasquatch Books, which is in Seattle, Washington where she ended up becoming a professor at the University of Washington.
pp. 197-205 Singleton, K., & Krause, E. (2009). Understanding cultural and linguistic barriers to health literacy. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 14(3). United Nations.
common perception of the text. It is this paper’s focus to examine a variety of
this will cause healthcare providers with the training and education needed for clinical documentation improvements to be installed effectively. It is important that having a specialized team who can create solutions towards Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) in order to minimize the failures that may occur. In this case, investing in training for the materials/tools necessary for healthcare providers to excel in their work with CDI. Essentially, Clinical Documentation is used throughout the healthcare system for the analysis of care, communication, and medical records. This is important because the information of medical records that healthcare providers are able to access, will help patients track their health conditions. Thus, clinical documentation improvement has a direct impact on patients by providing quality information. On the other hand, the new technological advancements will also be able to address the efficiencies in health care system that differ from paper-based charting. Improving on the quality of information will also have the effect upon the ethical and effectiveness of care that is being provided. This has a significant impact in order to maintain patient care that ensures the documentation is accurate, timely, and reflect within the services provided. Documentation assessments can be utilized so there can be improvements on the education for healthcare providers as they intend implementation standards take effect immediately. In this case, failures must be analyzed so that they will have the ability to comprehend and determine an organization’s strengths and weaknesses
Conaty-Buck, S. (2009). Unblocking barriers: Clearing the channel to improve communication between practitioners and patients with low health literacy. (Order No. 3364864, University of Virginia). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 121. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.uproxy.library.dc-uoit.ca/docview/305011452?accountid=14694. (305011452).
Literacy, or the capability to comprehend, translate, utilize, make, process, assess, and speak information connected with fluctuating settings and displayed in differing organizations, assumes an essential part in molding a young's persons trajectory in life. The ability to read speaks to a key factor of scholarly, social, and financial success (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). These abilities likewise speak to a fundamental segment to having a satisfying life and turning into an effective worker and overall person (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1999). Interestingly, recent studies have demonstrated that low reading skills lead to critical hindrances in monetary and social achievement. As stated by the National Center for Education Statistics, adults with lower levels of reading skills and literacy have a lower average salary. Another study evaluated that 17 to 18 percent of adults with "below average" literacy aptitudes earned less than $300 a week, though just 3 to 6 percent of adults with "proficient" reading abilities earned less than $300 a week (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998).
It is up to the healthcare professionals to assess and evaluate the patient's learning needs and readiness to learn because everyone learns differently. Healthcare is very sensitive industry because human life is attached to it. Barriers during teaching patients or learning for patients might cost life and law suite. For example, if the patient is sick, the probability for the client to have the interest to learn is unlikely. Therefore, I have to ask the patient what he needs and what interest him from other healthcare professional around. By doing so, I can increase the interest of the client/patient to learn the information I am looking to provide him/her/them. Therefore, by gathering important information from the patients how best they prefer to receive the information and involving other health care team on finding out the effective way of the information can be productive are the best way to overcome the barriers of learning in healthcare
Strategies necessary to comprehend informational text are different from those needed to comprehend literature (source), and since adults primarily read informational texts, these skills will be beneficial as students grow older (Kane, 2008). Moreover, since prior knowledge is necessary to understand texts (source), each subject requires its own reading skills.
Microsoft. Microsoft. Microsoft. (2014) Test Your Documents Readability.
Merging multi-literacies in Health and Physical Education could allow students to talk about topics of the genre more successfully and have knowledge of Health and Physical Education terms and language in daily life. According to Nutbeam (2000) interactive health literacy is a term which outlines the individual inspiration to maintain personal health. By teaching skills in the primary years to communicate and cope with health issues and physical activity will assist students in the schools of South Australia to know their personal requirements.
Health literacy is a term not widely understood by the general population. It is defined as “the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information needed to make appropriate health decisions and services needed to prevent or treat illness,” (About health literacy, 2014). A person’s level of health literacy is based on their age, education level, socioeconomic standing, and cultural background. Patients with low health literacy have a more difficult time navigating the health care system. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, this group of patients may find it harder to find medical services and health care providers, fill out health forms, provide their complete medical history with their providers, seek preventative care, understand the health risks associated with some behaviors, taking care of chronic health conditions, and understanding how to take prescribed medications (About health literacy, 2014). It is to a certain extent the patient’s responsibility to increase their own health literacy knowledge. But to what extent can they learn on their own? Those working in the health field have been trained to navigate the health system and understand the medical terms. They have the knowledge and capability to pass on that understanding to their patients. Health care professionals have a shared responsibility to help improve patients’ health literacy.
This could involve pre-test to examine users’ current literacy capacity to determine what word health workers should select in designing message. The messages designed for parents should differ from the one designed for school children. Individuals’ health literacy was also concentrated on functional level, such as the ability to read doctor’s instruction (William el al. 1995). Yet, one’s reading skill does not always comparable with listening, writing or writing skill (Schonlau et al. 2011). When health message is complex, health professionals should not assume individuals could understand only by checking their reading skills. In fact, they should consider overall level of consumers’ literacy level.
This paper will explain the process we, as humans usually follow to understand a certain text or utterance. This explanation would be achieved through the analysis of two journal articles from semantics and pragmatics perspective, taking into account a range of techniques associated with each of the two concepts including:
There has been a great deal of attention given by individuals, the media and by the government to Health Education. There is no doubt that a population which is “health literate” is significant for the sake of the “public health as a whole and consequently for public finances”(Tappe 2013) (Younghee 2013). Many countries, including the U.S., have realized just how vital these issues have become. Sadly however, the ability to understand basic health information, with or without health education, as well as access and process the services is only possessed by “50%”of the American public, resulting in the escalation of health care costs as well as poor decision making regarding health care.