The Role of Culture in Health Literacy and Chronic Disease Screening and Management

Health Literacy and Health-Promoting Behaviors among Multiethnic Groups of Women in Taiwan

“…In addition to these four major groups, new immigrants have formed a fifth ethnic group in Taiwan (Sandel & Liang, 2010 , 2000, pp. 11-20) and in their abilities to engage in health-promoting behaviors (Shaw, Huebner, Armin, Orzech, & Vivian, 2008;Zanchetta & Poureslami, 2006). Although some scholars have acknowledged the importance of culture in health literacy among indigenous peoples (Smylie, Williams, & Cooper, 2006) and immigrants (Zanchetta & Poureslami, 2006), the status of health literacy and health-promoting behaviors among multiethnic groups of women has not been widely discussed in either Taiwan or other countries.…”

Literacy and Health Disparities

“…Although the precise mechanisms of causation are debated, HL appears to have consequences for the health and well‐being of individuals, families, and communities, including difficulty with completing functional tasks, such as filling out patient registration forms (Sarfaty, Turner, & Damotta, , p. 305), reading and using medication labels (Sarfaty et al., ), interacting with healthcare professionals (Sarfaty et al., ), accessing insurance programs (Diehl, ), and identifying high‐quality health information (Shaw, Huebner, Armin, Orzech, & Vivian, ). LHL has also been linked with health disparities.…”

“…It also creates communication difficulties between patients and providers with different racial/ethnic or linguistic backgrounds. Additionally, practitioners’ and patients’ cultural beliefs about disease, prevention, and treatment can lead to misunderstandings (Shaw et al., ), resulting in distrust of medical personnel, worsening health conditions, and even death. In sum, research suggests that limited HL is:

consistently associated with more hospitalizations; greater use of emergency care; lower receipt of mammography screening and influenza vaccine; poorer ability to demonstrate taking medications appropriately; poorer ability to interpret labels and health messages; and, among elderly persons, poorer overall health status and higher mortality rates.

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“…For example, adult learners may not want to discuss private health issues in large, mixed‐gender classes (Papen, ). Differences between and among learners’ and educators’ sociocultural beliefs about health, disease, wellness, and treatment should be recognized when deciding what and how to teach (Shaw et al., ). Educators working with African‐Americans need to understand that decades of egregious mistreatment by medical researchers and providers has contributed to widespread mistrust of the medical establishment (Washington, ).…”

Sources of Health Information among Rural Women in Western Kentucky

“…Rural cultural mores contribute to health and health care inequalities, because they influence beliefs about disease etiology, appropriate self‐care behaviors, accepted treatments, and perceptions of physical and emotional symptoms (Shaw, Huebner, Armin, Orzech, & Vivian, ). For example, stoicism and self‐efficacy have been shown to influence care seeking for both physical and mental health concerns.…”