Health Literacy in Older Adults

According to the recent studies, the fastest growing age group in North America comprises old adults (Manafo & Wong, 2012). There is an estimation that this group will account for twenty percent of the entire U.S. population in 2030 (Chesser, Keene Woods, Smothers, & Rogers, 2016). The increase in the number has called for the appropriate measures to be taken in support of the health and well-being of these individuals. The particular area of interest is the influence of the health information on the healthy living of older adults. In line, the enhancement of the health literacy in this age group is possible when there are the availability and accessibility of information (Manafo & Wong, 2012, P. 1). Health literacy is crucial because it propagates self-management of older adults, empowers them to obtain, understand, and process both the basic and technical information under standard healthcare provisions; consequently, they become able to make appropriate personalized health care decisions.

Since today, older adults are reported to have either basic or below basic healthcare literacy, the priority is to improve this level in order to ensure the wellbeing of these individuals. Moreover, by 2030, the number of older adults in the country is considered to reach seventy-one million (“Quick guide,” 2017); thus, the importance of this goal is even higher. Recent years have witnessed older people taking control of their health and depending less on healthcare providers as the only source of information. Some aspects are to be considered in order to develop health literacy skills in older adults. These aspects include the effectiveness of communication and cognitive health of older adults. The same issues cause the possibility of the hindrance to actualizing the purpose of influencing health literacy skills in older adults. For that purpose, prior studies of the same problem are overviewed to define room for the further improvement. Also, the significance of all aspects is reviewed in a broader perspective; lastly, consequences of not addressing the arising problems caused by the claimed aspects are discussed.

Aspects

Effectiveness of Communication

Effective communication of health knowledge using various channels is important for ensuring the ultimate information is delivered to older adults. The effectiveness of communicating ensures that these people do understand the true meaning of the related data (“Are You Communicating Effectively,” 2016). There are factors to be considered when passing this information. They include communicating the main issues matching characteristics of the specific group of older people, as well as novelty and complexity of messages. Also, the information has to address shared values of the common life experiences of these individuals. In turn, solutions and recommendations regarding health issues are to be are specific to the age group. Lastly, platforms for the feedback are to be provided (“Older Adults,” 2016). All these factors create mechanisms for the effective communication with older adults in both directions.

Social groups have different expectations for the delivered information. If the messages do not match their anticipations; they are likely to discredit the message. In this case, the irrelevancy of the health information becomes a huge problem. Therefore, only the main issues affecting the group should be communicated in a simple and understandable way so that they are easily understood by older individuals (“Are You Communicating Effectively,” 2016). Any information that is too complex is likely to lead to the lack of comprehensibility of the general health information. Also, older adults expect shared information to shed some light on their living experience. In line, they understand the importance of the information and strive to get more from every piece (“Are You Communicating Effectively,” 2016). Lastly, there should be a two-way exchange of information; where the recommendations are both given to and received from engaged parties. In this scenario, older adults are encouraged to provide feedbacks and recommendations on the communicated information.

Cognitive Health

Chesser et al. (2016,) state that consequences of the cognitive health on older adults’ health literacy should not be underestimated. It is paramount for this population, which is characterized by the age-related cognitive decline. In line, health literate individuals mostly depend on cognitive functions for processing and recalling health information mostly from their minds. There is the casual relationship between cognitive health and health literacy. It suggests that the interrelationship between mental health and health literacy is not continuous (Chesser et al., 2016). Considering this case, lower levels of health literacy are associated with worth mental health; however, their relationship is not continuous in nature. In addition, health literacy is linked to the performance-based functional ability and memory performance, but neither age nor education. In fact, the cognitive function and education are significantly related to health literacy (Chesser et al., 2016). Experts looking forward to enhancing health literacy in older people should recognize that they have to use better educative models in order to deliver the intended message successfully. Moreover, the study of the older adults' cognitive function is important for developing means and ways of shaping the intended health information.

Significance of the Problem

According to CDC (“Older Adults,” 2016), the study done by the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) revealed that seventy-one percent of the older adults with the age group above sixty years had difficulty in using print materials. These materials were produced by either publishers or printers and included books, brochures, booklets, magazines, and publicity materials. Moreover, eighty percent of the older adults were unable to use other forms of documents, for example, standard forms and charts (“Older Adults,” 2016). In addition, data from the National Assessment of Adult Literacy research revealed that sixty-eight percent of older adults had difficulty in interpreting numbers and doing calculations. The research involved a large scale assessment representing the entire population of older adults in the US (“First Round,” 2016). This information demonstrates why health literacy and its development in older adults are important to the U.S. society as a whole.

Consequences of not Addressing the Problems

Low health literacy has been reported to affect almost half of the total American population. It is linked to poor health outcomes in older adults; in such a manner eighty percent of older Americans have at least one chronic ailment (Jayasinghe et. al., 2016). The more health ailments older adults have, the more they need to interpret complex healthcare conditions and use such valuable sources as the Internet. This situation is challenging to older people with low health literacy; they may choose wrong healthcare remedies and cause poor health outcomes (“Quick Guide,” 2017). Financial implications are also evident in that people with low health literacy have trouble with understanding health information. At times, this lack of knowledge causes the necessity of using emergency rooms and expensive health services, which contribute to poverty rates in the US. Other associated consequences include the poor use of preventive health services, the lack of engagement with healthcare providers on issues relating to older adults health status, the poor self-reported health of older people, and increased hospitalization (Jayasinghe et. al., 2016).

Conclusion

Both the effectiveness of communication and cognitive health has proven their essentiality in propagating health literacy in older adults. Effective communication integrates varied methods and dimensions of communicating health information. These methods and dimensions are recognized to influence positively the movement of health information to and from older adults. On the other hand, cognitive health has been emphasized as an aspect that links cognitive function and education. Older adults’ cognitive function should be studied by health experts in more details in order to enhance better means and mechanism of passing health information. It is important because such information influences older adult and allows them to understand relayed health data. Moreover, better educative measures that are understandable to older adults should be used in order to enhance easier and longer retention of information. It will be important in recognizing familiar health facts from various written or pictorial sources. The significance of addressing the problem has also been discussed. The consequences of neglecting health literacy initiatives on older adults are inevitable; they can cause social, financial, and medical problems.