Health Literacy And Health Inequalities Flashcards
Define health literacy
The personal characteristics and social resources needed for individuals and communities to access understand appraise and use information and services to make decisions about health - World Health organisation
Why is health literacy two-sided?
There are differences in individuals ability to understand and use information to make decision about their health and its a systems issue understanding the complexity of the health care system
Personal health literacy
Degrees which individuals have the ability find, understand and use information and services to make health related decisions and actions for themselves and others about health
Health inequalities definition
Measurable differences in health status or in the distribution of health resources between different population groups arising from the social conditions in which people are born, grow, live work and age in.
Low socioeconomic status
Less money
Poor living conditions
Poor health
Lower health literacy
Lacks of opportunities
What causes health inequalities
Due to avoidable, unfair and systematic differences in health between different groups of people
Differences in the status of people’s health and the lack of opportunities to lead healthy lifestyles
Examples of health inequalities
- life expectancy
- access to care
-Behavioural risks e.g smoking, drinking - patient satisfaction ( quality and experiences )
- wider deterrents ( quality of housing )
Individuals with lower health literacy have a
Lack of opportunities
Individual at lower end of social gradient
Receive mediocre care
Health illeterate
What is an intersectional experience
If an individual falls into the 4 factors of inequality they are having an intersectional experience
Inequalities are considered by 4 factors :
- Socio-economic - money you have for accessibility and services that are available to you
- Geography - geographical location ca affects your accessibility and availability to these services
- Specific characteristics - 9 protected characteristics that can’t be discriminated against - differential access
- Socially excluded groups - disabled, homeless, immigrants
What is the term if you experience a different combination of the 4 factors of inequality
Intersectional experience
Social determinants of health:
- conditions in the environment where people are born, live, work, worship and age affect a wide range of health quality, outcomes and risk.
- economic stability - money you have to access healthcare
-education access and quality
-health care access and quality
- neighbourhood and build environment - geographical location
-social and community context
Impacts of low health literacy
Significantly more negative outcomes across a range of health indicators
- more likely to have unhealthy lifestyles due to unknown consequences
-lifestyles are passed on from gens so unhealthy lifestyles will continue - less likely to make informed healthy choices and engage with preventative programmes due to lack of knowledge and understanding
-higher levels of illness due to to being identified and treated later
Less able to mange long term commotions as left it too late so health condition is more serious
-less likely to adhere to edification due to costs , lack of education an lack of resources to understand
Acute health conditions
Occurs over a short duration
Can be minor or serious
E.g minor acute illness
Major acute illness
Acute serious of chronic condition
What are these referred to as - myocardial infarction , coma , epilepsy, stroke
Acute serious episode of a chronic condition
Chronic conditions
Conditions with no cure and which are managed by drugs and other treatments
Statistics of chronic conditions
- Around 15 million in the UK have a chronic condition
(That have actively engaged with the NHS to get it diagnosed and yo help manage it) - 58% of chronic illness are from people over the age of of 60
-60% of chronic illness are from people living in deprived areas
-people with chronic illness account for 50% of all GP appointments
(Explains why there is a fewer appointment times for those with acute conditions)
-2/3 of over 65s are expected to live with multi - morbidity by 2035
Identifying barriers to accessing healthcare
- communication barrier
-language barrier
-cultural barrier
-geographical barrier
-financial barrier
-phsyical barriers
What is a communication barrier and what is the impact of it in accessing healthcare
Language barrier
Causes disparity between patient and healthcare professional
To overcome:
- have an interpreter
-improve understanding of health care info
- questions will be asked and answered
-effective communication enabled
What is a geographical barrier and what impact does it have on accessing healthcare
Location
Affects accessibility and availability of services
To overcome;
For upcoming appointments or any emergency ensure you find transport networks beforehand in order to be prepared to get to the nearest health care provider
What is a cultural barrier and how can you overcome these
A cultural barrier is a lack of similar reference points between patient and professional
Can cause misunderstandings due to assumptions
E.g a doctor may require patient to have a blood transfusion by patients cultural beliefs prohibits it . This can cause tension
To overcome
- train all health care professionals to have cultural competency
- cultural competency is having the skills, knowledge and policies to work effectively in cross- cultural situations
-being aware of other cultures can helps you understand beliefs that cause patients to refuse or hesitate things in healthcare
- doctor can look for alternative treatment
Other barriers affecting access to healthcare and how to overcome
Financial barriers
- struggling to buy medication
- dont follow medication plans
To overcome look for financial support within the NHS to provide funding for your condition
Time barrier
- a busy individual may always miss appointments due to they busy time schedule
- health may detoriate if individual has a condition that is not yet identified and treated immediately
To overcome individual needs to plan appointments and be organised with timings put reminders up
Physical barriers
- a wheelchair patient may need to access a service but it does not accommodate to their needs
To overcome find services that facilitate and accommodate for wheelchair patients
