|
|
Article: Health literacy: the newest vital sign.(from Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses)
- Article from:
- MedSurg Nursing
- Article date:
- October 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Jannetti Publications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
A woman recently came into an urgent care clinic because the antibiotics did not seem to be helping her child's ear infection. After some questioning, it was discovered that the oral antibiotic had been instilled in the painful ear. In another instance, the patient did not know to remove the wrapper from a suppository before inserting it. Another patient asked if a year was too long to wait for her MRI results and she was unsure if the flares in her spinal cord were good or bad. These are all examples of outcomes related to low health literacy. Health literacy is defined as "the ability of patients to obtain, process, and understand the basic information and services ...