Discuss the problem of literacy in the United States particularly functional hea

lth literacy? Explain the barriers to health literacy in the United States? Resp
ond to two of your peers post.
The problem of functional health literacy in the United states, surrounds around
the difficulty in understanding the U.S healthcare and navigating the Healthcar
e system. The maor questions that arise are those related to knowing the degree
to which patients and their families understand thier Healthsource and if the He
althsource understands their own demands.
In the U.S young 2004 described this issue of illeteracy as a national e
pidermic. Glasby 2002 refferred to as being a hidden handicap.The 1992 National
Adult Literacy Survey revealed that 1 out of every 5 adult suffers functional il
leteracy in the U.S, with another 23% estimated to be marginally illiterate and
a general assumption that more than 50 % of the population may ahave difficulty
understanding the communication process between them and their providers regardi
ng instructions for their healthy well being.
The CDC ( Center for disease control and prevention) expert panel of ye
ar 2000, defined health literacy as the degree to which individuals have the cap
acity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services n
eeded to make appropriate health decisions. A decision was reached that Improvin
g health literacy for all Americans has been identified as one of the 20 necessa
ry actions to improve health care quality on a national scale.Greater access to
reliable health information can provide tangible benefits to patients and consum
ers who routinely must make minor and major health decisions. At the same time,
access to information is only part of the process. Patients must sort through la
rge amounts of often confusing or conflicting information to make choices about
unfamiliar treatment options. Consumers must make sense of numerous and often uncl
ear and conflicting recommendations, warnings, and guidelines to protect and promo
te their own health and the health of their families and communities. They also
must be actively involved in ensuring that they receive health care services tha
t are safe and appropriate.
The U.S administration on aging inferred from their statistics that by 2
030 there will be 71.5 million U.S. adults aged 65 years or older, which is more
than twice their number in 2000. These group of people are the ones most in nee
d of Healthcare and the health related conditions they have are those that affec
ts their functioning at various levels and would require ability to choose the h
ealth plans and outcomes that would best suit them.
In response to ways to calm the situation, the CDC adviced that much can
be done in designing and presenting health information and services that people
can use effectively, by building our own health literacy skills and helping oth
ers community members, health professionals, and anyone else who communicates abou
t health build their skills too. Every organization involved in health information
and services needs its own health literacy plan to improve its organizational p
ractices. The resources on the CDC website can be used to learn about health lit
eracy issues, develop skills, create an action plan, and how to apply what is le
arnt to create health information and services that truly make a positive differ
ence in people's lives.
Explain the barriers to health literacy in the United States?
Barriers to achieving healthliteracy are multiple and occur at many levels.
Individual level barriers (demographic, health status, complexity of illness/tre
atment, illness experience and healthcare system exposure),
patient provider relationship barriers and
system related barriers (number, lenght,and quality of encounters, patient-cente
red care delivery).
References
1. http://www.cdc.gov/healthliteracy/pdf/olderadults.pdf

2. Communication skills for the Healthcare professional by gwen servellen

3. http://www.cdc.gov/healthliteracy/learn/index.html