Health Literacy

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Health literacy is important in all aspects of the healthcare field. Somewhere between health disparity and health equity we find this significance. We want to be able to provide high quality service to all of our clients. Communication is key in doing this. As Dr. Flick pointed out in her presentation, health literacy is dependent upon communication skills between lay persons and professionals. This means understanding your client's level of cognition and language skills. If you have a client that has an exercise science degree you may use terms like "gait" or "ambulate." However, if you are seeing someone without that background knowledge you are not going to be successful in communicating a description of the way they walk. In a sense you will have to "dumb down" your language for lay people and recognize that your clients probably haven't had the training that you have had. The podcast on social disparities emphasizes having empathy and delivering culturally sensitive healthcare. This aligns with the goal of seeking health equity. By using health literacy we are prioritizing the equality of care for every client by being sensitive to our client's language and communication skills.

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