Effective Communication, Health Literacy, and Cultural Safety

This essay highlights the crucial role of effective communication and health literacy in ensuring a culturally safe healthcare environment. It defines health literacy as the ability to understand and act on health-related information, emphasizing its origins in health promotion and education. The essay outlines the importance of health literacy in enhancing patient safety, improving health outcomes, reducing hospitalization rates, and promoting effective healthcare service utilization. It further explores the benefits of health literacy for patients, healthcare practitioners, and the community, including improved access to care, increased cultural awareness, and enhanced communication skills. The essay references various studies and publications to support its claims, underscoring the need for healthcare providers to adopt culturally sensitive communication strategies and promote health literacy to improve patient outcomes and create a more equitable healthcare system.

IMPORTANCE OF EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION AND HEALTH LITERACY
IN A CULTURALY SAFE HEALTHCARE
ENVIRONMENT.

What is health literacy
 Health literacy is termed as the ability of a person to comprehend and act
on information concerning health.
 The origins are based on the promotion of health, which is a personal
ability developed through education.
 Strategies set to ensure reduced health illiteracy include development of:
understandable health language
approachable learning materials for the patients
good communication approaches with the patient

Importance of health literacy
Ensures :
patient’s safety.
improved health status and lower risk of mortality for the
elderly.
reduced cases of hospitalization and emergency care usage.
effective use of services and access to health care,
maintenance of wellness and health as well as self-care of
severe health conditions.

Health literacy relations
Health literacy beneficiaries:
Patients
Health practitioners
The community

Patients as beneficiaries
 Safety
 Accessibility to health care services
 Enlightening patients on health information

The community as beneficiaries
 lower risk of mortality for the elderly.
 acknowledgement of communities cultural beliefs
 conducting community awareness programs

Health practitioners as beneficiaries
 Acquisition of new health information in relation to culture
 Enhancement of their communication skills for instance Cross-
disciplinary communication
 Acquiring knowledge of their beliefs, cultures, practices,
strategies, and assumptions.

References
Berkman, N. D., Davis, T. C., & McCormack, L. (2010). Health literacy: what is it? Journal of health
communication.
Bernabeo, E., & Holmboe, E. S. (2013). Patients, providers, and systems need to acquire a specific set of
competencies to achieve truly patient-centered care. Health Affairs.
Borkowski, N. (2015). Organizational behavior in health care. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Close, V. A. (2011). An insight into cross cultural communication strategies in health (Doctoral dissertation,
University of Southern Queensland).
Mirowsky, J. (2017). Education, social status, and health. Routledge.
Nunes, V., Neilson, J., O’flynn, N., Calvert, N., Kuntze, S., Smithson, H., & Crome, P. (2009). Clinical guidelines
and evidence review for medicines adherence: involving patients in decisions about prescribed medicines and
supporting adherence. London: National Collaborating Centre for Primary Care and Royal College of General
Practitioners.