Functional Health Literacy among Undergraduate Pharmacy Students: A Cross-Sectional Study from Pakistan

Health literacy is considered to be a matrix of cognitive abilities comprised of four competency areas which include accessing, understanding, judging and applying information related to health. Each of these proficiencies is framed within three domains of health that characterize both individual and societal level interactions within the health system. These are healthcare, disease prevention and health promotion [1]. The quality of health services and healthcare providers may be affected by health literacy levels of individuals [2]. Most of the individuals have difficulty in navigating healthcare options and are unable to understand the information provided by health care professionals regardless of their education and social status [3]. The inability to comprehend health related information by the patient leads to ineffective self-management of their medical problems. Lack of knowledge and appropriate clinical skills among medical and nursing graduates required for addressing the needs of individuals with low health literacy leads to further aggravation of the health issue [4]. Healthcare providers should possess adequate levels of health literacy for establishing an effective patient-provider communication relationship, as healthcare professionals can help in improving literacy levels of patients. Limited research has been conducted regarding levels of health literacy among healthcare professionals. Major gaps have been identified in the current literature among health professionals regarding their knowledge and clinical recognition of low health literacy. Great attention is required towards improving health literacy levels of medical and pharmacy students as after graduation they are involved in direct patient care. Interventions have been designed to improve health literacy levels in many countries but mostly have focused on patients, residents, and non-medical students [5]. The current literacy rate in Pakistan is only 54.9% but little focus has been given to the issue of health literacy in the country. Globally one of Volume 5 Issue 5 2017