Currently, social transformations and transformations in health systems seek a more collaborative and participatory model for people, in which they have greater access to information and make choices regarding their health.
This participation of citizens, as partners of the system and health professionals, in decision-making in health processes is increasingly recognized.
The changes are a result of promoting the theme Health Literacy (HL) or health literacy.
The concept of Health Literacy It has been defined in different ways since it emerged in 1970, but in 2012 the WHO and the European Consortium for Health Literacy defined it as:
Health Literacy is linked to Literacy and includes the knowledge, motivations and skills to agree, understand, evaluate and apply information about Health, in order to make judgments and take decisions about Health Care in everyday life, as well as to prevent disease, promote health and maintain or improve quality of life throughout the life cycle.
With this, Health Literacy influences people's Health, as well as safety and quality of health care.
In 2016, the WHO elected the subject as the main key factor in promoting Health and it is cited in studies as the sixth vital sign of Health.
In a context where chronic diseases and sources of health information are on the rise, looking at how people interact with information and how health professionals explain it in a way that facilitates patients' understanding is fundamental to the efficiency and effectiveness of treatments.
Understanding Health can significantly influence a person's prognosis and quality of life. patient. It can be said that the limits of Health go as far as people's understanding.
The ability to understand Health involves a set of 4 main factors:
• Cultural and conceptual knowledge of health;
• Know how to talk and listen about health;
• Understand what you read and know how to write about health;
• The ability to reason and apply numbers to health decisions.
Cultural and conceptual knowledge of health
Having knowledge about Health allows the search for a healthy life that will result in the prevention of diseases and self-care that is influenced by education, family, work environment, community and social communication.
Any situation in which a person is involved with health information falls within the context of health:
- Listen to guidance during the consultation;
- Compare foods while shopping;
- Watch health programs on TV;
- Finding information on the internet and judging whether it is reliable or not;
- Choose a health plan;
- Choose, together with health professionals, the treatment to be followed for chronic diseases, etc.
Many of these situations are permeated by fear or stress, as your decisions impact your quality of life.
In recent years, with the large number of drugs, tests and therapeutic possibilities, healthcare has become more complex.
No one is completely literate in health. Even in cases such as a health professional who begins treatment for a new disease, he or she may not be an expert on the subject and will need attention, guidance and information about the disease.
The better a person's relationship with their own Health, the better their Health Literacy (HL) skills and the lower their feelings of fear or stress.
Know how to talk and listen about health
In the communication process, health professionals are channels between scientific studies and people seeking this knowledge.
However, unfortunately, studies show that Health professionals overestimate what patients understand in fact of what was presented to them.
In view of this, the theme of Health Literacy helps to build a truly more effective and humane Health system.
For this to happen naturally, we must set aside the imposition of standards, even in learning, and understand each patient so that communication happens effectively and pleasantly with each person.
One of the main barriers to communication is related to the difficulty patients have in speaking openly with healthcare professionals. That's why it's essential to create an environment of trust.
Knowing how to deal with information to make appropriate decisions about your health directly involves the interaction between professionals, patients and health institutions.
Health Literacy is influenced by individual factors and those who disseminate information.
Therefore, regardless of the level of cognitive skill set and social competencies a person has, they will encounter barriers in their Health journey. Navigating the current healthcare landscape involves using many capabilities. The information is there, but there is difficulty in deciphering it.
Active listening is a skill, it is listening carefully and showing that you are paying attention.
In healthcare, it is important for those who speak to know that their complaints are being heard and taken into consideration.
When we talk about verbal communication, the main problems reported are:
- Inadequate explanation of diagnosis and treatment,
- The patient reports feeling ignored.
- The professional ignores or does not understand the patient's and family's perspective.
When it comes to HL skills for healthcare professionals, there are validated techniques to increase patient understanding. The two most talked about are:
- Teach-back (ping-pong technique): Assesses what the person understood from what was taught without causing embarrassment, consists of asking the person to explain in their own words what was taught.
- Ask-me 3 (3 questions for me): This technique encourages the person to ask, and the professional to answer, there are three basic questions:
- What do I have?
- What should I do? (regarding my problem)
- Why is it important for me to do this?
With this, patients will certainly be better informed and engaged in their health problems and will make it possible to better adhere to treatments and have quality health.
Taking into account what was observed, points 3 and 4, which are part of the set of skills for understanding Health, are also directly linked to the need to build Health literacy skills and abilities throughout life in search of a healthy life.
Being able to filter, judge and appreciate health information in order to understand the risks of contracting a disease and ways to treat a disease, reasoning about diagnostic tests, food consumption and medication use will certainly help in health decision-making.
In concrete terms, adopting a healthy diet, taking actions to prevent skin, breast or prostate cancer, developing first aid skills, knowing how to search for information about health on the internet or other media brings people closer to health promotion to improve their quality of life.
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