Improving The Health Literacy Of Older Adults With...

Introduction Health literacy is a vital aspect of people’s everyday lives. Without health literacy, individuals would struggle with the basic skills they require to properly take care of themselves. From everyday tasks to managing a person’s health, health literacy is integrated into everything that people encounter. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the application of the intersectoral approach can work to improve the health literacy of older adults with cardiovascular disease. This report will explore parts of the intersectoral approach and discover how it can be applied to increase the health literacy and promote well-being for older adults with cardiovascular disease. Health Literacy and the Intersectoral Health Literacy†¦show more content†¦Whether it be a diagnosis or a self-management technique, people need to understand what to do so they do not end up confused and not following through with what may be best for their well-being (Mitic Rootman, 2012). Mitic and Rootman (2012), discuss six reasons why health literacy is important. First, approximately 60% of Canadians are unable to understand and make decisions regarding their health. Second, having a lack of health literacy can lead to having poor health outcomes. For example, if a person does not fully understand their chronic disease, such as diabetes, they may not have the proper self-management skills to cope with the disease which could potentially result in hospitalization. The second reason goes hand-in-hand with the third reason of increasing rates of chronic diseases. With a lack of understanding, people may not know how to prevent or manage the chronic disease causing it to escalate to something more serious and may result in death. Low health literacy can also lead to extra costs spent on health care. Mitic and Rootman (2012), state that the additional expenses â€Å"ranged from 3 to 5% of the total health care cost per year†. This is due to people having a lack of understanding and require more health care attention than someone who has a higher health literacy. Also, with the advances of access to health information, the terminology used is often high-level and hard for most people