Health Literacy: A Comprehensive Care Coordination Plan

Health literacy has a tremendous impact on health outcomes and patients’ quality of life. People with low health literacy can find it challenging to understand and apply health information, and they may experience health disparities in access and use of healthcare services (O’Connor et al., 2020). This primary care coordination plan will explore consideration of the physical, psychosocial, and cultural factors that are related to health literacy and the identification of the community resources that are available to ensure a care continuum that is both safe and effective.

Physical Considerations

According to Shahid et al. (2020), individuals with poor health literacy can have problems understanding medicine labels, filling out medical forms, and following up on complex treatment plans. Sometimes, patients receive the wrong medication, miss their appointments, or fail to follow the treatment plan, all of which can worsen their condition and increase the need for healthcare services.

It is necessary to use approaches that enhance health information accessibility and clarity to overcome the mentioned physical considerations. For instance, simplifying patient health education materials, using visual aids and multimedia resources, and using teach-back techniques can improve patient health literacy (Walters et al., 2020). In addition, healthcare professionals should communicate with the patients simply and clearly, explaining medical terms and giving the patient enough time to ask questions and get clearance.

Psychosocial Considerations

Low health literacy patients often experience high levels of emotional distress, anxiety, and depression as they struggle to comprehend the healthcare system and medical information. Such emotions, which are frustration, powerlessness, and low self-esteem, may make the patient experience difficulties advocating for their health needs and accessing appropriate support services, exacerbating their psychosocial distress (Fleary et al., 2022). Consequently, healthcare workers need to be empathetic and patient-centered, which means they should be supportive and allow patients to express themselves and request help whenever needed. Mental health services, like counseling and peer support groups, can also assist people with low health literacy.

Cultural Considerations

Peprah et al. (2023) say that cultural norms and behaviors are some of the most significant factors determining people’s health literacy. Subcultural diversities give rise to different understandings of health knowledge, its meaning, and how it is used. Respecting cultural diversity is crucial when developing educational materials and health interventions to improve health literacy (Peprah et al., 2023). Consideration of cultural perspectives is crucial to ensure that resources are easily understood and effectively applied across different communities and languages. This consideration might be in the form of working with the community leaders and stakeholders to ensure that the health education materials are culturally appropriate and can be easily understood by all, even those who are not culturally savvy or do not speak their native language. Moreover, Peprah et al. (2023) recommend teaching medical professionals cultural competence to communicate and engage with patients from various cultures effectively.

Goals

Based on the identified physical, psychological, and cultural considerations of health literacy, I would develop the following SMART goals to address this healthcare issue effectively in the community care center:

1. By the end of the first year, implement tailored educational programs and interventions in underserved communities, resulting in a 15% increase in health literacy skills among participants.
2. Within six months, establish a patient advisory council and implement feedback mechanisms resulting in a 20% increase in patient-reported satisfaction with their level of involvement in their healthcare decisions.
3. Within one year, develop and distribute culturally sensitive resources and support services, leading to a 25% reduction in health outcome disparities associated with low health literacy in targeted underserved populations.

Community Resources

To achieve the above goals, I would leverage the following community resources to support individuals with low health literacy:

Health Literacy Programs

These programs consist of workshops, seminars, and learning materials to make the populace understand health-related facts. These programs usually employ materials that are easy to understand, visual aids, and interactive activities to enhance the learner’s comprehension.

Patient Education Materials

Simple pamphlets, brochures, and videos are some of the most effective ways of educating people with low health literacy about health-related issues. Their content must be in plain language, and it should be culturally sensitive for the target audience.

Health Navigators

The healthcare system is complex and confusing, so there is a need to partner with skilled social workers or volunteers who can help people in the community find their way through the healthcare system, book appointments, understand medical terminology, and access resources in the local community. Furthermore, health navigators advocate for the less educated and ensure they get the same medical care and support as others.

Community Health Centers

Collaborating with community health centers is instrumental in the success of this project. These facilities provide a wide variety of primary care services, such as screening and health education resources for communities with low health literacy, including low-income populations. Community health centers usually have multilingual staff and culturally sensitive strategies to meet the health concerns of the community.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the community care center must be redesigned to include all the physical, psychosocial, and cultural aspects affecting the community residents’ health literacy. By setting SMART goals and leveraging the current community resources, we can improve the community’s health literacy, resulting in improved health outcomes. This care coordination model will provide a solid foundation for delivering a safe and efficient care chain to community members with limited health literacy.

References

Fleary, S. A., Joseph, P. L., Gonçalves, C., Somogie, J., & Angeles, J. (2022). The Relationship Between Health Literacy and Mental Health Attitudes and Beliefs. Health literacy research and practice, 6(4), e270–e279. https://doi.org/10.3928/24748307-20221018-01

O’Conor, R., Moore, A., & Wolf, M. S. (2020). Health Literacy and Its Impact on Health and Healthcare Outcomes. Studies in health technology and informatics, pp. 269, 3–21. https://doi.org/10.3233/SHTI200019

Peprah, P., Lloyd, J., & Harris, M. (2023). Health literacy and cultural responsiveness of primary health care systems and services in Australia: reflections from service providers, stakeholders, and people from refugee backgrounds. BMC Public Health, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-17448-z

Shahid, R., Shoker, M., Chu, L. M., Frehlick, R., Ward, H., & Pahwa, P. (2022). Impact of low health literacy on patients’ health outcomes: a multicenter cohort study. BMC Health Services Research, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-08527-9

Walters, R., Leslie, S. J., Polson, R., Cusack, T., & Gorely, T. (2020). Establishing the efficacy of interventions to improve health literacy and health behaviors: a systematic review. BMC Public Health, 20(1), 1040. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-08991-0