Health Literacy

After engaging in lecture today, I learned that health is not just the lack of illness; it includes physical, mental, and social wellbeing. Occupational therapists support health in many ways, and one of those ways is prevention. In relation to healthcare, prevention involves interventions that reduce potential danger to health. A form of prevention is secondary prevention, which is inhibiting the effect of an illness or injury from getting worse by discovering it early. An example of secondary prevention used in occupational therapy is screening for development delays. 

Furthermore, I learned about health literacy and a client’s perception of health. Health literacy involves the amount of basic healthcare understanding that a client has that is also needed to make appropriate health discussions. As a future healthcare professional, it will be my responsibility to help my clients comprehend and participate in their health decisions. I thought that it was helpful to learn that occupational therapists can help clients reduce their fear and challenges by being sensitive to their vulnerability. Moreover, healthcare professionals should support clients while they navigate through a complex healthcare system. 

Lastly, it was inspiring to learn that patients who are health literate are more likely to make healthy lifestyle choices, have better communication with healthcare providers, and manage their chronic illnesses. Additionally, I learned about a couple different health literacy strategies. Providers do not always know if a patient has limited health literacy. So, healthcare providers should look for behavioral clues. These clues can be missed appointments, not taking medications, and not completing paperwork. Another strategy that I learned was using audio-visual aids instead of written words. This will help patients understand their conditions.