Health literacy Perception and Communication Skills of Healthcare Professionals

Abstract

Health literacy (HL) is considered as an interaction between the demands of health systems and the skills of individuals. Considering that HL is a global epidemic, current global approach demands health professionals and organizations to be more accountable for universal precautions approach and improve communication skills, and employ strategies to confirm patient's understanding. There are limited number of studies that reveal the HL perception of healthcare professionals (HCPs) and their communication skills. The aim of this study is to evaluate HCPs' awareness of HL and compare the findings among the subgroups of HCPs. Moreover the frequency of using several universally accepted communication skills was evaluated. An online survey involving 29 items was developed and the link was distributed by physicians' and nurses' professional societies. Among the 277 participants who answered the questions, 184 were physicians and 78 were nurses. More physicians (38.0%) than nurses (18.4%) declared that the first time they heard about the term ＂HL＂ was through this survey. Although most of the participants did not receive any HL-related training, 92.7% of nurses and 77.3% physicians stated their willingness to receive information/training on the subject. The frequency of using methods that improve communication with patients and whether the participants' think that the health system/work environment does not support the use of such method were also evaluated. Methods like providing ＂information specifically designed according to patients' HL level＂ (8.6%), ＂individualized, condensed health education session＂ (10.5%), and ＂transferring a patient with difficulty to an education centre＂ were stated as not supported by the health system. Both the frequency and the variety of the communication methods were more for nurses than physicians. Factors obstructing effective communication with patients were lack of time, complexity and amount of the medical information, and language differences. These results emphasize the urgent need of initiatives to be taken to improve the awareness of HCPs on HL. The current structure of the roles and responsibilities of the HCPs needs to be improved to make it more HL-sensitive. HCPs' education, skills, workload, and the infrastructure of their institutions may not comply with the requirements of these initiatives. A global change is needed in the mind-set of the decision makers and educators, job definitions of HCPs, and their work environment. With a national multidimensional approach, results will be achieved and the problems caused by low HL will be diminished.