The Importance Of Health Literacy

Literacy is the ability to read, write, and speak a written language. Literacy is a vital aspect in society because it helps one advance their own knowledge and potential. One can also advance their own knowledge and potential through health literacy. According to Health.gov, “Health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions” (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services). Health Literature is used daily to enrich one’s knowledge about old and new health information in the health community. Health literacy is an important aspect of all publications because it informs people about life-threatening or urgent

Mental health literacy, similar to health literacy, provides information about mental health disorders and how to aid their management, awareness and prevention. There are many myths and misconceptions about mental health and illness in the world, which makes it hard for people affected to find help. Health Literacy is important in helping to bring awareness to mental health facts, rather than to the myths that makes accepting mental illness difficult. In America, among mental health, minorities are less likely to seek help because of various reasons like stigmatisms about mental illness (“Unite for Sight”). Stigmatisms and social acceptance affect the decisions of minorities more than European Americans (“Unite for Sight”). This means that the negative societal perceptions of mental health cause individuals with mental health disorders to not get treatment or therapy because they feel ashamed of their mental illness. Within health literacy, the stigmatisms and cultural issues associated with mental illness in ethnic minority communities negatively impacts people affected by mental

The viewpoints in all the articles discussed have been mostly for the removal of the stigmas and negative cultural viewpoints of mental health. Professor Faye Gary’s, in her article of “Stigma: Barriers to Mental Health Care Among Ethnic Minorities”, perspective is similar to most of my sources in that researching and preventing stigma in the mental health community is important, however she focuses more the background than the action. However, Corrigan and Watson, in their article of “Understanding the Impact of Stigma on People with Mental Illness,” similar to Gary, educate on the background, however they go a step further and claim that stigmas about mental health impair the people affected from being able to integrate into a society where societal rejection is swift with evidence to back up their claim. Wong, in their article of “Racial and Ethnic Differences in Mental Illness Stigma and Discrimination Among Californians Experiencing Mental Health Challenges,” , compared to the other sources, says that self-stigma is the most damaging stigma. No other source claimed this and Wong also provides a study for how self-stigma affects ethnic minorities. Connor’s perspective, in their article, “Attitudes and Beliefs About Mental Health Among African American Older Adults Suffering From Depression,” focuses only on the cultural barriers for