Current and Future Methods in Improving Health Literacy as a Social Determinant of Health

Abstract

Health literacy can be a barrier to getting timely, informed, and comprehensible health care. Health literacy can be due to a number of causes, including but not limited to, poverty, low education level, and age. Additionally, decreased health literacy may be due to decreased organizational health literacy, which describes organizational issues within health care systems such as issues in navigating, using, and understanding health care information and services. In this special interest article, I aim to explore what efforts have been made to improve health literacy, including their limitations and strengths, as well as what future efforts are available. My goal is to provide an article that healthcare professionals can use to improve communication methods with patients in order to improve patient’s health literacy and health outcomes, and enhance the provider-patient relationship