To prepare:
• With the information from the Learning Resources in mind, consider the amount and types of health information available to consumers online.
• Reflect on the patients you have encountered in your practice, and consider their health literacy and use of online information.
• Evaluate strategies you could use to educate and assist your patients to appropriately use health information found on the web.
By Day 3 post a cohesive response that addresses the following:
Synthesize your previous experiences with consumer health literacy in your practice setting.
Formulate strategies that you could use to assist patients in interpreting and applying online health information going forward. Include strategies for those patients that overuse medical websites or regularly misinterpret medical information found online. Consumer Health Information Essay
Consumer Health Information
Introduction
Effective health communication between healthcare providers and patients significantly contributes to better disease prevention and health promotion (Misra et al., 2010). Health literacy is very important as it helps people to understand and act on consumer health information. Individuals with health literacy may misunderstand the health information, encounter difficulties adhering to the medical instructions, and inappropriately utilize healthcare services.
Experiences with Consumer Health Literacy
The consumer health literacy in my practice setting varies depending on individuals. Individuals with higher education are likely to have access to health information and adequate health literacy. However, sometimes educated individuals appear to consume a lot of health information from the internet, yet this information may be unverified and unhealthy. On the other hand, patients with less education, low-income earners, and minorities and seem to have inadequate health literacy and do not regularly access the internet. The older adults also seem to have a low level of consumer health literacy when compared to the younger population. Studies show that health literacy skills and internet access are very low in people from low socioeconomic status, ethnic minorities, and older adults (Huh et al., 2018).
Additionally, gaining trust when talking to patients with low health literacy is a challenge. This is especially true when healthcare providers are different from patients in regard to age, education, socio-economic status, and ethnic background (Levin-Zamir & Bertschi, 2018). These differences sometimes make patients uncomfortable to ask or disclose some personal health information. It is also common to see patients hiding the fact that they experience difficulties understanding some health information because they feel embarrassed to accept it.
Strategies to help Patients to Interpret and Apply Health Information Available Online
One of the strategies is to use effective teaching strategies to improve communication and assist patients to understand the health information better. The provider can ask patients open-ended questions to evaluate the patient’s understanding of health information. Secondly, the provider can utilize the teach-back method to examine the patient’s understanding of health information (Tan & Goonawardene, 2017). This will help patients be informed and cautious when handling any health information available online.
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Integration of technologies such as patient portals, mobile applications, and telehealth to facilitate effective communication with patients is also important. Through such technology platforms, patients can access reliable health information and at the same time confirm if the health information they are accessing online is reliable. Lastly, it is important to engage with patients regarding the online health information and help the patients to critically appraise such sources of information so that they can personally assess the health information better (O’Mathúna, 2018). Patients should also be advised to always confirm the online health information from their providers before using it. Consumer Health Information Essay
Conclusion
Health literacy helps people to understand and act on consumer health information. The majority of patients from low socioeconomic status and low education are likely to have poor health literacy levels. Healthcare professionals should help patients in the interpretation of the health information accessed online.
| Your Discussion postings should be written in standard edited English and follow APA guidelines as closely as possible given the constraints of the online platform. Be sure to support your work with specific citations from this week’s Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources as appropriate. Refer to the Essential Guide to APA Style
· it is BEST to always have a brief introduction and conclusion/summary paragraph to round out the paper.
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Consumer Health Information
“Better Information. Better Health.” —WebMD
“Trusted Health Information for You.” —MedlinePlusPopular health information websites (such as the ones noted above) have consumers logging on to acquire health information. Yet, research shows that many of today’s consumers need assistance searching for information as well as understanding and applying it. Lack of technological expertise, low levels of health literacy, and an inability to distinguish relevant facts are just some of the documented challenges.
As you work through this Discussion, keep in mind that health literacy does not merely imply access to information, but also the capacity to process that information to make informed decisions. In this Discussion, be sure to conceptualize nursing’s roles and responsibilities in assisting patients with web-based information.
References:
WebMD. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/
MedlinePlus. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/
To prepare:
- With the information from the Learning Resources in mind, consider the amount and types of health information available to consumers online.
- Reflect on the patients you have encountered in your practice, and consider their health literacy and use of online information.
- Evaluate strategies you could use to educate and assist your patients to appropriately use health information found on the web.
By Day 3 post a cohesive response that addresses the following:
- Synthesize your previous experiences with consumer health literacy in your practice setting.
- Formulate strategies that you could use to assist patients in interpreting and applying online health information going forward. Include strategies for those patients that overuse medical websites or regularly misinterpret medical information found online.
Consumer Health Information Essay