The New Zealand Medical
Association has produced a policy briefing on Improving
Health Literacy that seeks to promote a shared understanding of
what health literacy means, why it is important, and what can be done to
improve it.
This is relevant for all
healthcare professionals, healthcare managers, as well as policy and decision
makers across multiple sectors. It highlights the need for doctors and patients
to share decision making, which requires clear communication at all levels
Health literacy is
important. Lower levels of health literacy are associated with:
- increased rates of hospitalisation and greater use of emergency care
- poorer ability to take medications properly and to interpret labels
- poorer overall health status and a higher risk of death among older people.
Poor health literacy
is a particular issue for disadvantaged and vulnerable groups as it can
exacerbate underlying health access and equity issues.
Improving Health Literacy is comprehensive in terms of
its recommendations, covering each of the four groups represented in New
Zealand's Framework for Health Literacy: the health system, health
organisations, health workforce and individuals.