Myth Debunking Monday! In honor of Health Literacy Awareness Month, let’s dive into some common myths around the impacts of low health literacy. Myths such as the ones mentioned below can lead to stigma, lack of resources, and limited engagement in accessing care for those in need. The first step to supporting our communities is by understanding the facts.
🚩 Myth: Health Literacy does not impact clients health. Fact: Lower health literacy have also been associated with a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms, physical limitations, and chronic diseases; specifically heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and asthma.
🚩 Myth: Health Literacy does not impact clients using health medications or procedures. Fact: Patients with low literacy skills demonstrated a lower rate of correct interpretation of the PWLs (prescription drug warning labels) than those with higher literacy skills. It was identified that the most common causes of misinterpretation were: multiple-step instructions, reading level of the text, use of icons, use of color, and message clarity.
