Nursing for Health and Social Care

Discuss about the Nursing for Health and Social Care.

Health literacy can be defined as a static or dynamic concept or theory or behavioral change that deals with the development of importance of the health awareness among the community. On improving the health literacy would contribute to distribution of more knowledge related to health, reduction in the risk associated with health, elevate the wellness and prevention rate, develop better safety of the patient, better navigation of the healthcare system, improved patient care and advanced quality of life. According to Boyd & Dare (2014), health literacy can be effective with the development of certain habits. For example, reading, speaking, listening, critical analysis and communication play a key role in the development of health literacy among the individuals in the community. In culturally diverse environment where the culture and language can become a big barrier in terms of health literacy and health services communication can act as an effective tool to improve the health literacy in the healthcare system. This essay will highlight the importance and relationship among health literacy and effective communication and the strategies involved to improve the communication and health literacy (Alakeson et al., 2013).

Although the health care system has immensely grown in terms of its service, there still remain certain challenges like the low health literacy rate. History reveals the fact that patients used to go to the health care providers to receive informative health data. In this contemporary world with the advent of technology this concepts have changed to some extent. Information now-a-days is accessible and available through various sources. Even though information is easily available in this generation, there are specific health details that can only be obtained from the health practitioners. Thus, at the practical level, the nursing practitioners should be aware of the fact that culture has a significant impact on the life of human beings which is directly or indirectly connected to health (Douglas et al., 2014).

Health literacy is a concept which is important because in a cross-cultural environment it imposes a huge challenge since the health professionals need to understand the type of communication that needs to be developed with a low health literacy person in order to gain trust.  The health care providers believe on the fact that patient’s should be capable and should be a motivated partner who divides the responsibility in the delivery of effective and safe care (Evans Jr, 2013).

As stated by Garcia-Retamero & Galesic (2013), there is several importance of the health literacy. First of all the health care system should design and create a comprehensive response in terms of health literacy challenge in order to help the patients and their families to understand the need of a good health. Secondly, in a cross-cultural environment consisting of people from different parts of the world it becomes a challenge to understand their medical conditions, treatments and needs. Thus through the development of the health literacy nurses and other health professionals can use simple and concise language to understand and communicate with the patients (Hernandez et al., 2015).

As stated by Hernandez et al. (2015), the importance of applying health literacy in the language and cultural context is being highly recognized. There is vast difference between the cultural background of the health providers and the patient. With respect to a particular patient, there are number of health professionals assigned for his or her treatment. Since too many people are assigned in one particular patient, there exist chances of medical errors that need to be eliminated. Thus, an effective communication needs to be developed among the professionals as well as the patient and the health care practitioners in order to reduce the chances of clinical error. Clinical error due to the lack of proper communication in a culturally diverse environment is a persistent issue that needs to be addressed (Jeffreys, 2015).

The current status of the health care system emphasize on the fact that the health practitioners need to work in association with the patients in order to provide the best treatment. Considering the fact that a doctor, nurse or other health professional in order to continue with the treatment of a patient requires to know the medical complications, illness and clarify their doubts, an effective communication is important. According to Jeffreys (2015), sometimes patients intend to make their own medical decisions and in certain cases patients with lower educational competence don’t even understand the simple medical advises. Thus, maintaining the spiritual and cultural belief of the patient it is important to communicate with the patient in simple and understandable language (Kyle & Shaw, 2014). 

It is the structural framework of the health care system that influences the response of the people around. The patients are individuals who are conflated with the signs and symptoms of the disease and they are therefore treated as an object for examination. This is the central point of cultural competence. As discussed by Kyle & Shaw (2014), a synchronized approach, incorporating health literacy, cultural competence and effective communication at all the levels can encourage culturally responsive, unbiased and best quality services for everyone and ensure an effective communication as well as enhance health literacy for optimizing the health outcomes in an efficient manner (Lunkuse & Korir, 2016).

According to Lunkuse & Korir (2016), cultural diversity is focused on the ethnicity but it is not limited to age, gender, sexual orientation and disability. The main theme f the health literacy is concerned with the reduction of the health disparities. Health provider competencies can determine the unequal access to shared understanding of data and information among the patient and health professional. Especially, the health care professionals can help in the reduction in the existing health disparity. They can contribute by identifying the existence of the cross-cultural differences in the clinical setting, avoiding their own biases and assumptions, using appropriate communication skills and also involving the team resources to identify, diagnose and in turn address the cultural differences and low health literacy (Paniagua & Yamada, 2013).

There is a link between the health literacy and health communication. As stated by Nolan & Morley (2014), the healthy literacy influences the effectiveness of an effective communication, whereas, an effective communication enhances the role of health literacy. In order to provide information in certain ways that can improve the understanding and capability of people to act in accordance to the information, communication and cultural competence is important in the interaction between the consumer and the professional. Therefore, health literacy and effective communication all need to be strategized to bring about a change in the health care system ((Paniagua & Yamada, 2013).

According to Paniagua & Yamada (2013), there are several strategies involved to improve the health literacy and effective communication in a culturally diverse clinical environment. Firstly, a self-reported technique can be used by the health care professionals in order to enhance the communication with the low health literacy. Secondly, in order to maintain the awareness of health literacy and effective communication it is important to impart continuous education to the various health professionals through medical programs of short time courses. Thirdly, it is also important for the patient to gather knowledge and understanding regarding the disease and its treatment. As discussed by Pedersen (2013), lack of computer although can be a barrier for certain patient and his family. Therefore, accessibility to computer and library in schools, hospitals and other public places is very important. Moreover, certain patient-centered strategies should be implemented in the clinical practice such as picture based message, text message and videos which would be easier for low health literacy people to understand (Nolan & Morley, 2014).

The utilization of effective practices of communication for accommodating and strengthening the existing levels of health literacy is essential in the current health care system. Health literacy is a concept that can needs to be possessed by both the health care professionals as well as the care receivers in order to develop a successful health treatment setting. According to Pedersen (2013), one of the most convenient ways of improving health literacy in the community is effective communication. The health care professionals need to remember the concept of cultural diversity in the clinical environment. The health care providers believe on the fact that patient’s should be capable and should be a motivated partner who divides the responsibility in the delivery of effective and safe care. Thus, certain strategies needs to be developed that can improve the health literacy and communication in the cross-cultural health care environment. The strategies involved are the self-reported technique, impart of clinical education and accessibility to tools such as library and computers for enhancing the medical knowledge. Therefore, it can be concluded that the healthy literacy influences the effectiveness of an effective communication, whereas, an effective communication enhances the role of health literacy.

References

Alakeson, V., Bunnin, A., & Miller, C. (2013). Coproduction of health and wellbeing outcomes: the new paradigm for effective health and social care.London: OPM.

Boyd, C., & Dare, J. (2014). Communication Skills for Nurses. John Wiley & Sons.

Douglas, M. K., Rosenkoetter, M., Pacquiao, D. F., Callister, L. C., Hattar-Pollara, M., Lauderdale, J., ... & Purnell, L. (2014). Guidelines for implementing culturally competent nursing care. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 1043659614520998.

Evans Jr, M. W. (2013). Health Communications in the Clinical Setting.Health Promotion and Wellness: An Evidence-Based Guide to Clinical Preventive Services, 24.

Garcia-Retamero, R., & Galesic, M. (Eds.). (2013). Transparent communication of health risks: Overcoming cultural differences. Springer Science & Business Media.

Hernandez, M., Nesman, T., Mowery, D., Acevedo-Polakovich, I. D., & Callejas, L. M. (2015). Cultural competence: A literature review and conceptual model for mental health services. Psychiatric Services.

Jeffreys, M. R. (2015). Teaching cultural competence in nursing and health care: Inquiry, action, and innovation. Springer Publishing Company.

Kyle, S., & Shaw, D. (2014). docTor–paTienT communicaTion, paTienT KnoWledge and healTh liTeracy: hoW difficulT can iT all be?. The Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, 96(6), e9-e13.

Lunkuse, T., & Korir, P. (2016). How immigration affects healthcare: healthcare provision in multicultural environment.

Nolan, E. M., & Morley, M. J. (2014). A test of the relationship between person–environment fit and cross-cultural adjustment among self-initiated expatriates. The International Journal of Human Resource Management,25(11), 1631-1649.

Paniagua, F. A., & Yamada, A. M. (Eds.). (2013). Handbook of multicultural mental health: Assessment and treatment of diverse populations. Academic Press.

Pedersen, P. (2013). Multiculturalism as a fourth force. Routledge.