Low Functional Health Literacy

The association of the parent’s low functional health literacy level and a child health outcome is reliant on the caregiver’s ability to identify the child’s condition and immediately manage the adolescent’s medical needs. This responsibility of an adult to implement the necessary tasks of administering the correct amounts of medication, promoting adequate nutrition, and providing sufficient safety is further exacerbated by the common barrier reflected in the parents low functional health literacy levels. Studies suggest that the problem of an adults low health literacy is increased by their inability to reach out for fear of embarrassment when inquiring about a pressing health issue that may arise. Parents may make excuses and postpone
decisions, resulting in various unfortunate health outcomes for themselves, or their children (Johnson, Moser & Garwood, 2013). One important group that exhibits a low level of health literacy, and as a result, is susceptible to poor health outcomes, is the elderly. Of the many patient populations that utilize healthcare resources and services, the elderly are the highest. Studies suggest that more than 80% of those older than the age of 60 exhibit a low level of functional health literacy. Furthermore, those with low health literacy showed poorer physical and psychological health than those with stronger health literacy competencies. Also, along with the low, unfavorable physical outcomes, there was also a higher cost reflected by the low literacy levels (Williams, Davis, Parker & Weiss, 2002). With the elderly comprising a significant portion of the patient populations in the United States and the steady growth of Medicare spending increasing significantly in the next fifteen years, it is fundamentally crucial to isolate the pressing healthcare issues that the low health literacy rates within the elderly patient populations are driving.
Although poor levels of functional health literacy within the elderly populations do contribute to high healthcare costs resulting from issues with poor patient compliance, medication errors, and poor personal health management, one of the pressing factors contributing to the high utilization and readmission rates within the first 30 days of release was due to the failure to clearly understand discharge instructions. As a result of this matter, Medicare spending is projected to increase by 79% between 2010 and 2020 (DeCoster, Ehlman & Conners,
2013). One of the primary forces that is fueling the high levels of readmission rates are the issues of the low functional literacy levels within the elderly populations and their inability to adhere to matters pertaining to chronic heart failure.
When observing reported readmission rates, the health issues that are most common with the elderly are congestive heart failure, heart attacks and pneumonia (DeCoster, Ehlman & Conners, 2013). Therefore, the ability of the elderly patient populations to successfully follow medication instructions and maintain a clear line of communication with their caregivers are all critical components to a healthy patient-provider experience. Furthermore, with the highest readmission costs in the United States due to elderly related heart issues, the need for a more standardized, patient-centered instructional platform is necessary. To combat the high rate of low literacy and poor cognitive ability with the elderly, the integration of a discharge system following a single patient-centered format, with clear instructional guidelines, would be crucial for the effective adherence of this patient population (Morrow, Weiner, Steinley, Young & Murray,
2007). A patient’s heart failure management is a complex area that requires considerable literacy skills, as well as a significant amount of self-care and patient involvement. With the complexities that heart failure management encompasses, a higher level of patient participation and knowledge is necessary to avoid costly readmissions and unnecessary hospitalizations. Implementing engaging approaches are necessary to care for individuals suffering from cardiac conditions, and ensuring for optimum health results. An effective technique to combat low functional health literacy for the elderly with heart disease is through self-care promotion interventions. The utilization of a more direct approach through collaboration with the patient and their provider involving personal conversation has improved the issue of low health literacy, as well as overall health outcomes (Moser, Robinson, Biddle, Pelter, Nesbitt, Southhard, Cooper & Dracup, 2015). Through an exchange of constructive communication, and not just the delivery of the care instructions, both the patient and the physician can better understand and measure how well the intended medical information was delivered. Studies show that the high rate of low functional health literacy associated with heart-related educational material is attributed to a lack of understanding of its content, as well as its inability to meet the necessary standardized criteria required (Moser, Robinson, Biddle, Pelter, Nesbitt, Southhard, Cooper & Dracup, 2015). Therefore, the heart-related educational materials available must be effectively assessed and revised as needed to reflect the health literacy levels reflected by the specific patient populations utilizing them.
Health Literacy: A Path Towards Improvement When comprehensively assessing health literacy in the United States, the need to implement an effective plan of action to avoid risk is mandatory. The integration of