Low 'health literacy' widespread

[Guest guest]

Very scary statistics. Thank heaven for groups like this that have helped

educate me on health matters beyond what traditional medicine thinks I

should know.

The cynic in me says that Big Pharma and the medical establishment wants to

keep us ignorant and intimidated so we won't question their 'authority'.

 

LO

 

 

 

 

Study: Low 'health literacy' widespread

90 million Americans have trouble with medical directions

 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Nearly half of American adults face higher risks of

health problems because of trouble understanding medical terms and

directions, experts said Thursday in a report that calls for a national

effort to improve health literacy.

Comprehending medicine's arcane jargon is difficult for even the most

educated of laymen. It's almost impossible for millions who can't read well,

aren't fluent in English, or have vision or cognitive problems caused by

aging.

Now the prestigious Institute of Medicine has put a number on just how many

people have " limited health literacy " -- a surprising 90 million adults.

They have problems following instructions on drug labels, interpreting

hospital consent forms, even understanding a doctor's diagnosis and

instructions.

It's a problem exacerbated by the increasing complexity of the nation's

health care system -- one contributing to health disparities among the poor

and minorities -- and it may be costing billions of dollars in avoidable

costs, the report concludes.

" I hope this will be a call to action, " said Dr. David Kindig of the

University of Wisconsin, who chaired the institute's two-year probe.

" It's a public health problem, a societal problem, " not just an individual

patient's problem -- one that requires work from doctors, educators and

regulators, he said. " Everybody has a piece of this. "

Shame and stigma play a big role, the report found. Patients are embarrassed

about reading difficulty or worried the doctor will think they're dumb if

they ask questions.

But even the college-educated can have a hard time with medical information

like this example the institute uncovered: " Patients should be monitored for

extraocular CMV infections and reinitis in the opposite eye. " That

instruction wasn't written for doctors -- it was on a treatment information

sheet for patients.

Another example cited: The mother who poured an oral antibiotic into a

2-year-old's infected ear, because the prescription label didn't say to

swallow the liquid.

Communication gaps

In videotaped sessions with patients, the institute documented worrisome

misunderstandings: A mother who misread how much medicine to give her child.

A woman who didn't realize she was signing a consent form for a

hysterectomy. A man who thought his doctor considered him " hyper, can't sit

still " because she diagnosed hypertension, the medical term for high blood

pressure.

Health literacy isn't a new problem. Surgeon General Richard Carmona has

made the issue his cornerstone; the American Medical Association has long

sponsored efforts to improve doctors' communication; and pilot programs to

help Medicaid patients or people in adult reading classes better understand

health instructions are under way in several states.

But if doctors actually quizzed patients about what they understood after a

visit, they'd be stunned, said Dr. Harvey Fineberg, president of the

Institute of Medicine, which advises the nation on ways to improve health.

" Health literacy -- enabling patients to understand and to act in their own

interest -- remains a neglected final pathway to high-quality health care, "

he said.

Education statistics show one in five adults reads below the sixth-grade

level, while most health materials are written at the 10th-grade level or

above.

Numerous studies show patients with limited health literacy are more likely

to be hospitalized and need emergency-room care, have poorer health habits

and are less likely to use preventive services to ward off disease. That in

turn increases costs. One study found hospital spending is $993 higher, on

average, for a patient with inadequate health literacy.

Among the report's recommendations:

--The government should pay for research on ways to improve health literacy.

--Accrediting organizations should require that schools follow national

health education standards, from elementary school through college.

--Health organizations and medical schools should teach health literacy and

how to communicate with patients.

--Medicare, insurers and other health groups should develop creative ways to

communicate clear health information, and use cultural and linguistic

competency as an essential measure of care quality.

 

Find this article at:

http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/04/08/health.literacy.ap/index.html

[Guest guest]

, " lobrien "

<lobrien@a...> wrote: Very scary statistics. Thank heaven for

groups like this that have helped educate me on health matters

beyond what traditional medicine thinks I should know. The cynic in

me says that Big Pharma and the medical establishment wants to

> keep us ignorant and intimidated so we won't question

their 'authority'. LO

 

 

Hi,

 

Yes, that is a big issue and they want it to look like it is the

patient's inadequacy. I am one of those college educated patients

and I have been dropped as a patient for asking questions. Doctors

can have big egos, but at the end of the day I'm the one who gets to

live with whatever I decide to put in my body. It's not just asking

the questions, but being willing and able to find another doctor for

an ongoing medical condition when one gets insulted you and drops

you. Eventually, it gets old and most of us just walk away from

the " big drug/operation racket. " It's pretty sad though because

the people most impacted by this are the ones without internet

access or transportation to a library or even the willingness to

consider something other than what their doctor is saying. Oh, yes,

it's big business and it has little to do with literacy and

assertiveness deficiencies. I'm just glad to be here not wearing

rose colored glasses clawing my way back to where I was before my

medical nightmare began.

 

Jumping off soapbox,

msd

 

P.S. Moderators: Thanks for having this group and for everyone

posting such informative and helpful information.