Health Literacy and Elderly Patients: A Case Study

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University

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“Health literacy is the ability to access, understand, evaluate and communicate
information as a way to promote, maintain and improve health in a variety of settings across
the life-course.” (Rootman, 2008). Health literacy enables people with a disease to
understand the disease better and seek medical help at the right time. The aged may suffer
from loneliness, chronic disease and debilitating conditions. Being health literate can help
them seek treatment and improve health outcomes. But it has been observed that lack of
information about possible treatment often impacts their health outcomes negatively.
Subject of the case study, Fiona, an elderly person suffers from loneliness, lives
remotely, is socially isolated and has problems with vision and suffers from arthritis. She has
a problem understanding legal and medical terminology. And does not know how to approach
or find a physician whom she can trust. Loneliness among the elderly has an impact on their
mental and physical health. Diminished social contact can cause social distress (Richard, et
al., 2017). Due to generation gap there may be a sense of embarrassment when trying to
communicate making it difficult for the elderly to meet health literacy goals (Chesser, et al.,
2016). Individuals with low health literacy are less likely to take preventive steps and so are
more likely to suffer from chronic disease. It is difficult for them to navigate the healthcare
system and prevent illnesses because they may not have had the literacy to get an annual
influenza vaccine or undergo cancer screenings. Health literacy indicates good self
management skills, good utilisation of health services for emergencies and preventive
healthcare. Patients with health literacy are more likely to adhere to medication, knowledge
about disease, and thus there is reduced premature mortality (Bush, et al., n.d.). Health
literacy helps individuals to obtain information about health and use it for their own benefit
(McCaffery, et al., 2016). Educational intervention trials have been made with the goal of
improving health literacy among the elderly in Australia. The study tried to improve self
efficacy by imparting knowledge about complementary and alternative medicine and to see

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whether the lessons improved the uptake of alternative medicine among them (Smith, et al.,
2017). The intervention made use of the internet or a DVD and a booklet, while the control
group received only a booklet. Another study reviewed the effect of complex educational
interventions in the area of self management of patients suffering from osteoarthritis with the
aim of improving the management of the chronic condition and promoting reduction in pain
and discomfort. The self-management programs were meant to supplement the medical
treatment and improve patient outcomes. It was found that self management following the
educational interventions may alleviate pain in patients but not to a clinically significant level
(Kroon, et al., 2014). Many health inequalities are due to low health literacy. An educational
intervention that sought to remove health inequalities through an educational program was
found to be effective in raising the levels of health literacy among the participants (Muscat, et
al., 2016). The use of internet may reduce the social isolation of remotely located people to
some extent. It is also possible to reduce their sense of helplessness in accessing medical if
they remain in contact with friends, family or healthcare professionals through the online
mode.
In Fiona's case two health issues may need immediate attention. According to her ''her
eyes play up'', so she avoids driving. Her eyesight needs to be checked and she should be
advised a detailed eye exam. Also, her blood sugar levels should be examined to check if she
has diabetes. If left untreated it could lead to problems with visual acuity, macular
degeneration or retinal disorders. Eye problems have also been studied as precursors of
dementia among the elderly. Studies have found n association between eyesight problems and
the onset of Alzheimer's (Rogers, 2010). So it is important that vision problems be treated as
soon as possible. The correlation between eyesight problems and cognitive decline is
particularly alarming. Fiona also suffers from osteoarthritis and it has worsened in her knee
joint. Treatment for osteoarthritis is a high priority for her because she is pain all the time.