By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    headphones can create health problems
    The Harmful Health Effects of Using Headphones
    September 24, 2021
    Headache causes
    4 Causes Of Headache You Probably Didn’t Know About
    December 28, 2021
    follow these steps to recover from your injury
    What Steps Should You Take to Recover More Quickly from an Injury?
    April 12, 2022
    Latest News
    7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
    August 20, 2025
    Hospital Pest Control and the Fight Against Superbugs
    August 20, 2025
    Hygiene Beyond The Clinic: Attention To Overlooked Non-Clinical Spaces
    August 13, 2025
    5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
    August 3, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Recognizing When You Are Enabling A Person Struggling with Addiction
    February 5, 2021
    Contraception for Techno-Doctors
    July 13, 2011
    ACP Ethics Manual on Social Media, Catastrophes, and More
    January 13, 2012
    Latest News
    How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
    August 22, 2025
    How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
    August 22, 2025
    How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
    August 22, 2025
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Medicine Or Pseudoscience? Helping Patients Develop Health Literacy
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Wellness > Home Health > Medicine Or Pseudoscience? Helping Patients Develop Health Literacy
Home Health

Medicine Or Pseudoscience? Helping Patients Develop Health Literacy

jennacyprus
jennacyprus
Share
6 Min Read
SHARE

At a time when we all have access to more information than ever before, it can be difficult to filter through all of that content to determine what’s fact and what’s fiction – and the challenge is only greater for patients working to navigate the world of health and medicine. That’s why, as medical professionals, it’s our responsibility to help our patients develop health literacy skills. At a time when we all have access to more information than ever before, it can be difficult to filter through all of that content to determine what’s fact and what’s fiction – and the challenge is only greater for patients working to navigate the world of health and medicine. That’s why, as medical professionals, it’s our responsibility to help our patients develop health literacy skills. Health literacy has proven benefits in a number of regards, helping patients to understand their diagnoses, learn about medication side effects, research clinical trials, and make better food choices – but it’s not always easy to teach these skills. Luckily, there are resources available that can help patients approach the process, including eLearning opportunities, teach back techniques, and easy content assessment strategies. By sharing these resources and devoting time to teaching about information interpretation, we can help patients achieve greater understanding and prepare them for an information saturated world. Spotting Credentials One of the greatest difficulties for patients learning to navigate health information online is identifying reliable sources. Luckily, there are easy ways to help patients tell the difference between medicine and pseudoscience. For example, we can encourage patients to seek information from websites with addresses ending in “edu” or “gov.” These sites are more likely to provide informed, accurate content. Similarly, patients should learn to look for the author credentials on any health information. This article on the health value of flaxseeds, for example, was written by someone with degrees in public health and nutrition. Teaching patients about these degrees and titles – MD, MPH, RN, LPN – can help them assess their sources of information. The third factor patients should be taught to look for is citations. The same flaxseed article can again serve as a guide; at the end you’ll find research citations that can be used as a teaching tool with patients. Teaching patients about the importance of published studies can take medical information from confusing to useful. The Teach Back Approach When patients leave a medical appointment, the hope is that they understood the information presented to them and are prepared to apply it at home. That might mean making dietary changes, taking medication as directed, or monitoring certain symptoms or health metrics, like pulse or blood sugar. Unfortunately, patients often leave an appointment uncertain about what they’ve been told about their health and what they’re supposed to be doing. That’s why using a teach back approach is so helpful when building patient health literacy. In essence, a teach back is exactly what it sounds like – after you explain something to a patient, you ask them to teach it back to you. It’s especially important to make sure they can do this in their own words, not just parrot back your exact phasing. By translating the language of the directions, patients show that they’ve absorbed and understood the information. You can also use an accompanying show back approach when teaching patients to use a new device, such as an auto-injector or blood sugar monitor. If a patient can’t teach back or show back what you’ve taught them during an appointment, you need to spend more time working with them. Learning Beyond The Appointment Perhaps the best tool available for improving health literacy is the new Healthy People 2020 initiative sponsored by the U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP). The Healthy People campaign offers numerous online resources, such as eLearning webinars, evidence-based resources, and key health indicators. While much of this is targeted towards health professionals and students, the resources equip us as professionals to work with patients towards key health goals. The importance of ODPHP’s Healthy People campaign is clear in the “preparedness” objective. In the face of major health crises, the objective emphasizes the ability to communicate, inform, and meet the needs of the community. We need to build health literacy in advance of such emergencies, however, in order to fulfill this objective – the constraints of a crisis are such that we have less time for explaining and re-explaining health-related content. Ultimately, health literacy is a project that requires the full engagement of both patients and health professionals, and it’s a responsibility we share. When we can more clearly recognize that an informed patient is a healthier patient, we may finally begin to shift and expand the content of medical appointments and the capacities of patient health portals. It’s time to focus on interpretation and understanding as much as we focus on diagnosis and treatment.

Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

engineer fitting prosthetic arm
How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
Health care
August 20, 2025
a woman explaining the document
How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
Public Health
August 20, 2025
physiotherapist at work
How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
Health care
August 20, 2025
Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs
7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
Health News
August 20, 2025

You Might also Like

Home HealthSpecialties

Could Vitamin C Be The Best Micronutrient For Skin Health?

April 17, 2019
Home HealthWellness

7 Nutrients Your Diet May Be Missing

August 9, 2019

Personal Health Record rEvolution

December 19, 2011
Home HealthWellness

The Difference Between Whey Protein Isolate and Concentrate

January 3, 2020
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?