ASK Us About: Health Literacy
What drives our vision and mission at Acquire Skills and Knowledge Education, Inc.?
There is a need to create an educational community where the student, the teacher and the parents come together to improve learning processes across the US, and around the globe. See our ASK Us About: Education posts for more ideas and information. Follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn to learn about opportunities to contribute to the growth and development of tools for the preK-12 learner.
A large part of my desire to lead change in education is to also lead change in health literacy. Health literacy is very low around the world. In the USA it is estimated that only about 12% of residents have an appropriate level of health literacy. Health literacy in other countries is much less.
What is Health Literacy? The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) defines it as “the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.”
The impact of low health literacy to a nation is an inefficient health care system which leads to a higher cost of health care. Health literacy is not the fault of individuals. It is the fault of a system. Low health literacy leads to health disparities. These health disparities or the differences in health care can be whether people are screened or not for a disease, if and how they are treated for a disease, and what outcomes a person experience. There are many factors that can lead to health disparities. Race or ethnicity, sex, sexual identity, age, disability, socioeconomic status, and geographic location all contribute to an individual’s health outcomes.
For a nation to be healthy, all its citizens and residents must be able to have access to healthcare, understand their healthcare professionals and the plan for care, and process the health information they are given. In other words, they must be able to actively participate in their care. It is especially important to support youth (ages 10-19) in becoming health literate because it is during this time that they develop lifelong habits. Healthy youth who become healthy adults are the economic key to all our futures.
Schools and school systems for years have had “health requirements” for the learner although with a very limited curriculum and time spent on topics of health. Much of the time, the health requirement is a physical fitness class that includes hygiene and sexually transmitted diseases information. These things are very important, but there is so much more to ensure a youth becomes competent in health.
Our first product is a tool to educate HS learners about community health, and the importance of handwashing and how disease is spread. This is coincidental to the Corona Virus 2019 (CoVid-19) but the spread of virus’ and other disease is one major public health concern we have as an organization. It is imperative that our youth and their families become aware and knowledgeable about many areas of health.
One final word regarding health literacy. There are prime examples of bad health information, and illiteracy about health, in our media and social media, during the current Corona Virus 2019 (Covid-19) Pandemic. Please listen to the health care professionals who are urging people not to take medications that are not proven to be effective. Medications can harm people, and animals, even over the counter medications and herbal remedies. Do NOT ever ingest, smell, inject or place harmful products on skin that are not meant for human or animal consumption. Lysol, Clorox, and other cleaning products ARE POISONOUS. Medications that are not prescribed for you can be dangerous. Contact your pharmacist, nurse practitioner, physician, dentist or veterinarian if you have questions regarding the treatment and prevention of any disease.
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