Health literacy and self-care in patients

Abstract

Self-care is a process in which a patient uses his knowledge and skills to perform recommended behaviors. Therefore, patients should not only be able to obtain sufficient information about their illness and how to take care of them, they must also be able to use their knowledge in different situations and situations. In fact, patients for self-care and disease management, need to receive accurate and authoritative information to understand their condition as well as to collaborate on self-care programs [1]. Although doctors have historically been the most important source for health and medical information, but today, with the spread of media and the rapid dissemination of information through the internet, access to other resources is easy for the public. Therefore, patients' skills to achieve, accurate understanding and apply this information will have a significant effect on their health and well-being. These skills have recently been highly regarded as "health literacy" (HL) [2]. HL is defined as the level of individual capacity for gaining, interpreting, understanding basic information and health services that is necessary for a proper decision-making, and is divided into three levels of functional, communication, and critical [3]. In a meta-analysis study that summarizes the results of 85 different studies, the percentage of inadequate and marginal HL in the United States is estimated to be 25% and 20%, respectively. Also, in a study of patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure in two US hospitals, inadequate HL was reported to be 44% and 49%, respectively [4]. Various studies have shown that HL level is correlated with self-care behaviors in patients and people with higher levels of

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“…‫ﻧﺎﮐﺎﻓﯽ،‬ ‫ﺳﻼﻣﺖ‬ ‫ﺳﻮاد‬ ‫ﻫﻤﭽﻨﯿﻦ‬ ‫ﻣ‬ ‫ﯽ‬ ‫ﺗﻮاﻧﺪ‬ ‫اﺗﺨﺎذ‬ ‫ﺑﺮای‬ ‫ﺟﺪی‬ ‫ﻣﺎﻧﻌﯽ‬ ‫ﺧﻮدﻣﺮاﻗﺒﺘﯽ‬ ‫رﻓﺘﺎرﻫﺎی‬ [9] ‫رﻓﺘﺎرﻫﺎی‬ ‫و‬ ‫ﭘ‬ ‫ﯿ‬ ‫ﺸﮕ‬ ‫ﯿ‬ ‫ﺮ‬ ‫ی‬ ‫ﮐﻨﻨﺪه‬ [10] ‫اﻓﺮاد‬ ‫در‬…”

Understanding perspective on community health literacy for promoting the health of older adults with hypertension: a qualitative descriptive study

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