NSG 3480: Health Literacy Assessment Sample Essay

Health Literacy Assessment

According to Ratzan (n.d) “health literacy is defined as the degree a person must understand and comprehend the basic health information in order to make the appropriate health decision in one’s life. It is the capacity and knowledgeone’shaving to cope with the different health situations”. It can be used to a person himself or to provide health information and services to others. People who has properly health literacy are able to help themselves and  others to find information and services, to communicate about health and healthcare , and to decide what fit best in the different situations so people can act and take the right way when seeking and receiving care. NSG 3480: Health Literacy Assessment Sample Essay

There is a strong correlation between low health literacy and poor health outcome. The level of literacy strongly affectsthe ability to not only comprehend the health information but also to take more control of our health as individuals, families and communities. To have low health literacy carries a numberless issuesuch as poor health outcomes often related to medication errors and poor understanding of diseases and treatments (Williams, baker, parker et, Nurss). According Baker, Wolf and their colleagues (n.d) “there is also a strong correlation between low health literacy and mortality rate, they found that the more inadequate the health literacy is, the higher the mortality rate is as well as the rate of chronic diseases and the health care cost”.

Racial groups (white and Hispanics), less educated people with less than a high school diploma and elderly are populations at risk for low health literacy (health.gov, n.d). According to the U.S Department of Education health literacy is an issue for all racial groups where white adults are at higher percentage of low health literacy followed by Hispanic adults. Also, people with less than a high school degree as well as older than 65 years old are affected by having low health literacy. NSG 3480: Health Literacy Assessment Sample Essay

“Florida Flu Review” is the document that was selected to determine at which level of comprehension it would be related to the general population. In order to evaluate the document, I used the website which showed up a SMOG score of 16.84 (utility.org, n.d).

Based on this score is clearly interpreted that the level of readability of the selected document is too high, I would say it is at the level of abachelor’s degree or higher related to the general population. The document is not suitable in any of my selected groups at risk for low health literacybecause according to the U.S. Department of Education their health literacy was found below the basic standards which means for example they could  read short instructions and identify what is allowed to drink before a medical test but they could not go on a higher level like this document was written. Hispanics will not understand it because it is written in English, people who has less than a high school degree will struggle at this point because it is written at a high level of education as well as the population older than 65 years old.

The result suggested that the document needs to be rewritten in order to improve its readability. There are too many technical words, abbreviations and medical terminologies that make its comprehension very difficult andset the standards to a bachelor’s degree and up. In addition, it is important to mention that this document is written in English which is a factor that negatively impact in the Hispanic population who does not speak English. At this high level of readability nurses struggle at the moment of teaching sections,these sections  will consume more time than the expected one and it would be really hard to bring the clients attention since it is not easily understandable and they could not find it interesting. NSG 3480: Health Literacy Assessment Sample Essay

I strongly recommend that this article must be written at a lower level such as 5^th because on that way it will be easier for my at-risk population to master the information that is being transmitted. Additionally, the document needs to be translated in Spanish because Hispanic population at risk also have issues with language barrier.  It is also important to write clear and concise and substitute the use of technical words and medical terminologies because it will help to keep our readers attention and the message efficiently communicated and with impact. NSG 3480: Health Literacy Assessment Sample Essay

References

Baker, D., Wolf, M., Feinglass, J., Thompson, J., Gazmararian, J., Huang, J. Health Literacy and Mortality Among Elderly Persons. Arch Intern Med. 167(14):1503-1509

health.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2019, from.

Ratzan, S.C. (2001). Health literacy: Communication for the public good. Health promotion international, 16, 207-214.

utility.org. (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2019, from

Williams MV, Baker DW, Parker RM, Nurss JR. Relationship of functional health literacy to patients’ knowledge of their chronic disease: a study of patients with hypertension and diabetes. Arch Intern Med; 158:166–72. NSG 3480: Health Literacy Assessment Sample Essay