Modern global healthcare brings with it a growing expectation of patient health literacy. While this includes basic functions such as making health care appointments and being able to read and understand health literature like pamphlets, health literacy has come to mean a great deal more in the 21st century. According to the World Health Organization, health literate patients are those who have the social and cognitive skills necessary to access health care services in a way which promotes their ongoing good health. However, as patients face an increased pressure to understand their health needs and act as self-advocates when interacting with health care practitioners, it becomes clear that health literacy is intricately connected to economic, social, and political factors which impact on health.
A large body of research studies have found a strong correlation between health literacy and positive health outcomes; however, there is less data available which explains how patients can go about becoming literate about their health and the health of their families. This begs the question: who is responsible for health literacy? Do we expect that all patients have the education, motivation, and resources to inform themselves about issues such as preventative care, healthy eating, and vaccinations? Is it realistic to expect already overburdened health care practitioners to educate patients whilst conducting routine check-ups and examinations?
The growing diversity of our global population requires new and innovative ways to improve health literacy, and calls upon health care providers, governments, and other stakeholders to acknowledge and address the many macro-level factors which shape and influence individual health. For example, patients who are coping with issues such as poverty and homelessness may find themselves marginalized when trying to access health care services, and may face substantial barriers which prevent them from becoming health literate. This highlights the extreme importance of designing health literacy programs which aim to empower patients so that they may become better able to ask for the services they require and deserve.
Certainly, it will take more work, energy, and money on the part of nations’ health care systems to improve health literacy to the point where individuals can advocate for themselves and understand how to use the system to their advantage. It is not enough to simply provide patients with information about good health practices; rather, health care organizations must enter into strategic alliances with governments, policy makers, health care providers, and other stakeholders in order to develop health literacy plans which focus on the most vulnerable and marginalized members of society. While there may be short-term costs associated with health literacy programs which focus on patient empowerment, research indicates that health literate patients represent a decreased burden on the health care system as represented by fewer emergency room visits and greater levels of patient compliance in following instructions from health care practitioners. In the long run, educated patients are healthier patients, demonstrating how health literacy ultimately translates into lower healthcare costs for nations and improved health outcomes for all citizens.