Health literacy is a crucial public metric that determines how well individuals and organizations understand health-related decisions and associated actions. This information is valuable regarding specific diseases and vulnerable population groups since a deep understanding of the illnesses might directly affect patients’ lives. The current paper examines three healthcare resources and provides an overview of the relationship between health literacy and education for hemodialysis patients.
Beneficial Resources for Developing Education
Among the proposed sources (the Healthy Literacy Online guide, CDC webpage, and Health Literate Care Model), I find the former to be the most beneficial for developing education. Namely, the guide written by the US Department of Health and Human Services focuses on the online aspect of distributing valuable information to the population groups (“Health Literacy Online,” 2016). With the development of digital services, educating people online has become one of the most convenient and effective methods to teach patients about the potential health risks of diseases and preventative strategies. However, educators must realize that information online should be presented in a user-friendly manner to communicate with patients. In this sense, the Health Literacy Guide Online is an excellent resource for learning the basics of design, navigation, sensitive labeling, and other essential characteristics of digital communication (“Health Literacy Online,” 2016). Ultimately, I believe this resource is crucial for developing educational materials for patients in an easy-to-understand manner.
The other two web pages are excellent resources for learning about health literacy in general, but they provide insufficient guidelines regarding how to convey these ideas to patients. For instance, the CDC webpage explains what health literacy is and why it is significant in modern healthcare (“What is health literacy,” 2022). Similarly, the Health Literate Care model presents the benefits of the approach, showing that health literacy stimulates productive interactions and increases the quality of services (“Healthcare Literate Care,” n.d.). However, both resources lack an explanation of how to maximize the productivity of health literacy and what educators should do to achieve it.
Considerations for Hemodialysis Patients
Regarding the vulnerable group of hemodialysis patients, the recommendations from the online guide are valuable. Hemodialysis is a continual therapy, and patients must consistently undergo the procedure to mitigate kidney failure. As research shows, education and physical activities have a substantial positive impact on health outcomes among hemodialysis patients (Lazarus, 2018). Hence, improving the quality of interactive education by implementing the principles of the online guide might also lead to beneficial results. Moreover, hemodialysis is a complicated procedure that has many restrictions, associated conditions, and other related processes. Patients might benefit from a detailed online resource about hemodialysis since they can quickly learn about the specificities of the procedure. For instance, the guide by Sanford Health about hemodialysis is a comprehensive online education resource that implements a practical design and organized narrative (“Hemodialysis patient education,” 2017). This resource follows the principles of the online guide and accurately presents essential information about the disease.
Health Literacy Impact and Conclusion
As seen from the analysis, health literacy plays a vital role in improving the health outcomes for hemodialysis patients. It is particularly significant because hemodialysis is a highly complicated procedure, and patients must understand all associated restrictions to maximize the benefits. In other words, patients need to be educated about lab tests, values, nutrition, contraindications, medication, treatment options, and other variables that are crucial to the success of hemodialysis. As a result, improving the quality of educational materials is beneficial not only for health outcomes but also for enhancing communication with patients. Ultimately, health literacy is essential in modern healthcare since it directly relates to the provided healthcare services and positively affects health outcomes in various population groups.
References
Healthcare Literate Care model. (n.d.). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Web.
Health Literacy Online: A guide for simplifying the user experience. (2016). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Web.
Hemodialysis patient education manual. (2017). Sanford Health. Web.
Lazarus, E. R. (2019). Effectiveness of education and exercise on quality of life among patients undergoing hemodialysis.Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health, 7(3), 402-408. Web.
What is health literacy? (2022). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web.