Health literacy is utilizing information we receive to make appropriate decisions about our health. Health literacy is important for us to be able to understand our health and communicate efficiently with health professionals. Without a background in health, reading, writing and understanding health literacy can be challenging for many people. Improving your health literacy can have a positive impact on your overall health. Here are 3 tips to becoming more health literate:
Tip #1.
Ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask questions to your health care providers, to help you understand your health. Ask your question multiple times if you still don’t understand or need more clarification. It also helps to write down the answers you receive so you can refer back to them in the future.
Tip #2.
Read health information. Become educated on your health by taking the time to explore journals, magazines, websites and more to improve your health literacy. Be an explorer of health and you’ll find you can learn a lot along the way!
Tip #3.
Bring someone with you to your healthcare appointments. Ask a close family member or friend to accompany you. They can take notes or help you remember information that you are given. Later, you can utilize your support person for asking questions about your appointment and what happened.
Check out the source for more Information on health literacy: https://www.cdc.gov/healthliteracy/learn/index.html