By Ginny Hosbach, RN, MSN
Health literacy is the ability to
read, understand and act on health information. About 90 million Americans (nearly 1 in 2 adults) do not understand basic
health information, according to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report. By some IOM estimates, low literacy
levels cost the healthcare system more than $58 billion annually. The Partnership for Clear Health
Communication is the first national coalition of organizations who are working
together to promote awareness and solutions around the issue of low health
literacy and its effect on health outcomes. This organization supports the
findings in the IOM report, “Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion.”
The organization’s first
initiative is “Ask Me 3”, a
quick and effective tool designed to improve communication between patients and
providers. “Ask Me 3” promotes
three simple but essential questions that patients should ask their providers
in every health care interaction: What
is my main problem? What do I need to do? And Why is it important for me to do
this?
“Ask Me 3” provides tips for
clearer health communication. Some of
these tips include having the patient commit to asking these 3 questions, bring
a friend or family member to help at their doctor visit, make a list of health
concerns to tell their doctor or nurse, bring a list of all medicines, and ask their
pharmacist for help when they have questions about my medicines.
Is your patient able to read their
prescription drug bottles, appointment slips, medical education brochures, doctor's
directions and consent forms? What is their numerical or computational ability to
calculate or reason numerically? With the development of the Internet as a
source of health information, health literacy may also include the ability to
search the Internet and evaluate websites.
There are three tools that were
designed to specifically measure health literacy, The Test of Functional Health
Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA), The Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine
(REALM) and the Newest Vital Sign (NVS). Check these out for use in your
situation.
Offer help confidentially, provide
privacy and be non-judgmental. Offer assistance and get feedback from the
patients to identify what they know. Use
the teach-back and show-back strategies to identify the patient’s understanding
of the information provided.
