Date of Submission
Spring 5-26-2020
Document Type
Manuscript
Department
Nursing
First Advisor
Dr. Jo Loomis
Second Advisor
Dr. Elena Capella
Abstract
Objective: In the veteran population, almost one in every five patients has inadequate or marginal health literacy (Haun, Patel, French, Campbell, & Lapcevic, 2015). Having low health literacy predisposes patients to high emergency room (ER) utilization and hospital readmission (Mitchell, Sadikova, Jack, & Paasche-Orlow, 2012) and low treatment adherence (Miller, 2016). This manuscript aims to review the literature about health literacy and to encourage effective, standardized health education delivery to increase health literacy.
Method: An integrated review of the literature from Cochrane, Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI), Scopus, CINAHL, and PubMed databases showed the importance of bridging the health literacy gap.
Result: The integrated review of the literature provides evidence that timely and applicable health education increases health literacy and promotes improvement in patient engagement.
Conclusion: Adapting effective health education delivery to increase health literacy improves patient engagement and shared decision-making, self-management skills, adherence to treatment plans, and quality of life.
Practice Implication: The emergence of new information technologies creates new opportunities and challenges for a settings approach to health promotion. It is by increasing health literacy, improving patient engagement, and reducing healthcare costs that a healthcare service system can pave the way for the achievement of enhanced sustainability.
Recommended Citation
Bermudez, Ella, "The Significance of Bridging the Health Literacy Gap" (2020). DNP Qualifying Manuscripts. 44.
https://repository.usfca.edu/dnp_qualifying/44
