Supporting patients with low health literacy: what role do radiation therapists play?

What role does health literacy play in patients' involvement in medical decision-making?

Patients vary in their preferences towards involvement in medical decision-making. Previous research, however, gives no clear explanation for this observed variation in their involvement. One possible explanation might be health literacy. Health literacy refers to personal characteristics and social resources needed for people to access, understand and use information to make decisions about th...

Breastfeeding: what role do fathers play?

Health Literacy: What Do You Need to Do?

Years ago, two patients taught me the importance of communicating clearly. One was a middle-aged woman I’d been taking care of in the intensive care unit (ICU). I asked a consultant to see her, and while we were in the room with the patient, the consultant said, “I think she’s doing much better. We can move her from the ICU to the floor.” After the consultant left the room, my patient asked a q...

Mental health literacy: what do Nigerian adolescents know about depression?

Background Depression is a leading cause of disability and has been projected to become the 2nd most burdensome disease by the year 2020; depression has also been found to be the strongest single risk factor for attempted or completed suicides. Adolescent-onset mood disorders are frequently unrecognized or misdiagnosed and often go untreated. While there is a growing literature on the mental he...

Do medical trainees feel confident communicating with low health literacy patients?

BACKGROUND Medical trainees infrequently use health literacy (HL) skills and overestimate their use of plain language and teach back skills. The aim of this study is to assess if level of training impacts the perception of medical trainees around HL knowledge and skills. METHODS A structured questionnaire consisting of 5 questions assessing the respondents' perception of their confidence in t...