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| Image retrieved from www.safetyandquality.com.au |
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| Image retrieved from www.safetyandquality.com.au |
Additionally, health literacy is impacted by social determinants of health. The social determinants as listed by (World Health Organisation [WHO], 2016) are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, including environmental forces which shape the conditions of daily life. These factors may have positive or negative influences and impact on health outcomes according to Brown & Edwards (2012).
Throughout my reading of health literacy, I have learnt there are a number of groups at risk of low health literacy and as Heidke (2015) has discussed, they are often related to social determinants of health. Groups identified to be more at risk include older adults, people with compromised health and or low economic status, language and disabilities. A recent interview with a vision impaired consumer (Peter, 2016) identified how a consumer's perspective of someone who identifies with a disability may be affected by social determinants and how it has influenced his lifestyle. Peter discusses how his disability, transport, age, environment and especially technology all contribute to his health.
An opinion that Peter discusses in relation to nursing staff and how he feels from the consumer perspective, is current nurses lack a certain 'care factor' compared to 'older nursing days'.
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| Image retrieved from allposters.com |
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| Image retrieved from stvincentcharity.com |
The article strengthened the importance of having health promotion strategies to address health literacy. Guzy & Petrie (2014) identified the Ottowa Charter for Health Promotion which has five core strategies which can be viewed in more detail at Ottowa Charter (WHO), 1986.
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| Image Retrieved from http://www.who.int |
Some of the health promotion strategies I have endeavoured to lean are summarised by Guzy & Petrie (2014, p. 28), which are medical, behavioural, educational, empowerment and social change approach. Each of these strategies are generated from the Ottawa Charter. Oldfield (2005), suggests there are four characteristics associated with health literacy. These skills are reading, comprehension, numeracy and communication. Studies identified in Heidke (2015), found the internet an important source of health information, however, people with high educational levels may not necessarily have high literacy levels, and most people from lower socioeconomic geographic locations had less access. It supports the fact that empowerment was an important factor in health education (Heidke, 2015).
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| Image retrieved from www.safetyandquality.com.au |
References
Brown, D., & Edwards, H. (2012). Lewis's
medical-surgical nursing (3rd ed., pp. 50-51). Chatswood, N.S.W.: Elsevier
Australia.
Guzys, D., & Petrie, E. (2013). An
Introduction to Community and Primary Health Care in Australia. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Oldfield, S. (2005). The concept of health literacy within
the older adult population. Holistic Nursing Practice, 23 (4), 204-212.
Peter (2016). Interview with Peter; Vision Impairment.
[Echo360] NHLT12002: Inclusive Practice - NHLT12002_2153. Retrieved
from https://moodle.cqu.edu.au/blocks/echo360_echocenter/echocenter_frame.php?id=2455
Sand-Jecklin, K., Murray, B., Summers, B., Watson, J.
(2010). Educating Nursing Students about Health Literacy: From the Classroom to
the Patient Bedside. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 15 (3).
World Health Organisation (WHO), (2016). Health Promotion.
The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/healthpromotion/conferences/previous/ottawa/en/
