Nurses Responsibility and The Approaches to Address Patient Care in Health Literacy

Health Literacy
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Health Literacy
Answer 1
Nurses are ethically responsible for assessing patients' health literacy. Whenever sick individuals visit hospitals, their expectations are that they will get the best treatment or medications that address their health issues. As such, patients should not just be given medicines or get treated without knowing what is happening. Based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), health literacy refers to the degree to which people have the capacity to process, obtain, and comprehend basic health information so that they can make proper decisions on their health (CDC, 2021). Sick individuals should not be obliged to sign papers they do not understand. Caregivers should assess patients' health literacy and find the appropriate way of communicating with these individuals to give the best treatment and medication. When patients are well-informed about their health statuses or things they are required to do and the reason behind them, they become aware of what they are supposed to do. As such, they do not question the decisions made by nurses since they understand their significance.
Answer 2
Washington has a health literacy rate, at or below level 1, of 23%. The state has an average numeracy scale score of 262. The health literacy rate, at or below level 1, of Adams County, Washington is 47%. Adams County has an average literacy scale score of 230 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2021). Based on Washington's health literacy rates, over a half percent of the population needs nurses’ assistance in understanding basic health information. That is why caregivers should be friendly to their patients and answer all questions asked to promote health literacy and proper understanding of various treatments and medications. Health professionals should not overemphasize treating sick individuals without helping them to know why they choose a specific strategy instead of another one. For example, it appears bad for a patient to know that they have high blood pressure but do not understand hypertension.
Answer 3
Rowlands et al. (2020) define health literacy as the motivation, competencies, and knowledge to understand, apply, appraise, and access health information to help an individual make proper decisions concerning his or her health, health promotion, disease prevention, and improve the quality of life (Rowlands et al., 2020). In that case, the best approach for evidence-based patient care regarding health literacy would be to help patients understand the significance of their treatment and know why they take specific medications. The best thing about evidence-based patient care is that caregivers use tested and approved treatment methods and medicines. In particular, nurses should know how to communicate about health literacy using a simple language that patients can comprehend. When patients acquire accurate health information, they make proper decisions and feel as if they have control of their lives since they can make proper decisions pertaining to their health.
Answer 4
Individuals like Mr. Bell, a maintenance worker, fear asking physici...