Health literacy: An opportunity for nurses to lead by example

Mayer, Gloria Gilbert; Villaire, Michael

doi:10.1016/j.outlook.2011.01.006

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…For example, research indicates that people who use the internet to gain health information require more help from health professionals to interpret and understand the information to be able to make choices (Ahmad et al., 2006; Lee, 2008). Health professionals have a role to play in advancing service users’ knowledge, understanding and decision-making (Ferguson and Pawlak, 2011; Mayer and Villaire, 2011). However, this needs to be balanced with the workloads of staff to ensure they can provide the time and support to fulfil this role.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nurses’ views on the impact of mass media on the public perception of nursing and nurse–service user interactions

Hoyle

Kyle

Mahoney

2017

Journal of Research in Nursing

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Aims: To examine nurses' views on the impact that mass media has on service users and how this affects nurse/service user interactions. Background: Internationally, the mass media is an important source of health information for the public. Media framing therefore exerts considerable influence on the public's perceptions of healthcare professionals and services. However, it is not known how the reporting of health stories by the media impacts the work of front-line nursing staff. Design: A qualitative interpretivist study using a single case study design. Methods: Semi-structured interviews with qualified nursing staff (n=31) within a large hospital in the United Kingdom. Results/Findings: Three key themes: 'scaremongering health stories'; 'negative portrayal of the nursing profession and 'informed service users'. Nurses perceived media framing of health and healthcare services as predominantly negative. Conclusion: Nurses need greater awareness of how service users receive and respond to health information and how health stories are reported. Closer engagement between health journalists and nurses through 'journalist-in-residence' programmes could enable nurses and journalists to gain greater appreciation of their respective sets of knowledge to support shared and informed decisionmaking between service users and professionals.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nurses’ views on the impact of mass media on the public perception of nursing and nurse–service user interactions

Hoyle

Kyle

Mahoney

2017

Journal of Research in Nursing

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“…Research suggests that people who use the Internet to source health information need more help from healthcare professionals with interpreting and understanding reports to be able to make choices themselves [34,35]. Nurses are centrally positioned to help advance patients’ knowledge and decision-making about health information, and, in turn, to help improve their health outcomes [36,37]. However, in an age where people experience an overload of information from mass media channels, providing this support to patients appears to be taking its toll on primary care nurses’ workloads.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Primary care nurses’ experiences of how the mass media influence frontline healthcare in the UK

Bekkum

Hilton

2013

BMC Fam Pract

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BackgroundMass media plays an important role in communicating about health research and services to patients, and in shaping public perceptions and decisions about health. Healthcare professionals also play an important role in providing patients with credible, evidence-based and up-to-date information on a wide range of health issues. This study aims to explore primary care nurses’ experiences of how mass media influences frontline healthcare.MethodsIn-depth telephone interviews were carried out with 18 primary care nurses (nine health visitors and nine practice nurses) working in the United Kingdom (UK). Interviews were recorded and transcribed. The data was analysed using thematic analysis, with a focus on constant comparative analysis.ResultsThree themes emerged from the data. First, participants reported that their patients were frequently influenced by controversial health stories reported in the media, which affected their perceptions of, and decisions about, care. This, in turn, impinged upon participants’ workloads as they had to spend additional time discussing information and reassuring patients. Second, participants also recalled times in their own careers when media reports had contributed to a decline in their confidence in current healthcare practices and treatments. Third, the participants in this study suggested a real need for additional resources to support and expand their own media literacy skills, which could be shared with patients.ConclusionIn an ever expanding media landscape with greater reporting on health, nurses working in the primary care setting face increasing pressure to effectively manage media stories that dispute current health policies and practices. These primary care nurses were keen to expand their media literacy skills to develop critical autonomy in relation to all media, and to facilitate more meaningful conversations with their patients about their health concerns and choices.

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“…Additionally, learning can be supported through the use of a partnership approach with nurses where meaning can occur through discussion resulting in increased parenting confidence (Fowler et al 2011). Nurses are well placed to assist parents increase their health literacy levels (Mayer 2011) and therefore improve health outcomes for not only the children but also their families.…”

Section: Opportunities For Nurses To Increase Parental Health Literacmentioning

confidence: 99%

Opportunities for Nurses to Increase Parental Health Literacy: A Discussion Paper

Johnston

Fowler

Wilson

et al. 2015

Issues in Comprehensive Pediatric Nursing

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Most families can access a range of health information and advice. Information and advice sources often include nurses, the Internet, social media, books, as well as family and friends. While the immediate aim may be to find information, it can also be to assist with parenting skills, solve parenting problems or as part of decision-making processes about their child's health. These processes are strongly influenced by the parent's level of health literacy. Health literacy describes a person's capacity to obtain and utilize health related information. Although there are numerous health literacy definitions all have clearly defined steps. These steps are: obtaining relevant information; then understanding this information; and finally being able to use the information to achieve the expected outcome. Previous research has linked low levels of parental health literacy with poorer child health outcomes. Given this link, increasing health literacy levels would be advantageous for both families and health services. Nurses working with families are in a position to support the family to increase their health literacy through the use of a variety of strategies. This article outlines how health literacy can influence the way parents seek help when they are concerned about child health issues, the relevance of parental health literacy for nurses and suggests some tools that could be used to support the increase of health literacy.

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Health literacy: An opportunity for nurses to lead by example

Cited by 9 publications

References 9 publications

Nurses’ views on the impact of mass media on the public perception of nursing and nurse–service user interactions

Nurses’ views on the impact of mass media on the public perception of nursing and nurse–service user interactions

Primary care nurses’ experiences of how the mass media influence frontline healthcare in the UK

Opportunities for Nurses to Increase Parental Health Literacy: A Discussion Paper

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