Week 1 lecture

Question 1

What is healthy literacy defined as?

Answer 1

Health literacy is defined as the degree to which an individual has the capacity to obtain, communicate, process, and understand basic health information and services to makes appropriate health decisions.

Question 2

What groups are the most affected by the lack of health literacy?

Answer 2

Groups that are the most affected are minority groups, people with chronic disease, people with less than a high school education, lower income levels, non-native English speakers, and older adults.

Question 3

What can non-verbal communication include?

Answer 3

Non-verbal communication can include facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, and posture. “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it”

Question 4

What can health literacy result in?

Answer 4

Health literacy can result in:
- poor health outcomes
- decreased use of preventative services
- increased hospitalization
- high mortality
- decreased compliance with medication and treatment
- more medication errors
- less self-care skills

Question 5

In what ways does cultural competence improve patient care?

Answer 5

Cultural competence improves patient care by:
- understanding the patient’s perception of their illness and how it should be treated
- knowing what social barriers (insurance, finances, access to care) may effect adherence
- using the patient’s values in the health care decision making process
- addressing the patient’s fears and concerns about the treatment plan

Question 6

What is para-verbal communication?

Answer 6

Para-verbal communication is the way in which we say things, such as tone of voice, speaking fast or slow, speaking high or low, emphasizing specific words, etc. Para-verbal messages provide emotional cues about how the speaker is feeling

Question 7

What is para-verbal communication?