Talking FACS
Host: Dr. Jennifer Hunter, Assistant Director for Family and Consumer Sciences Extension, University of Kentucky
Guest: Natalie Jones, Extension Specialist for Family Health
Episode 13, Volume 2
0:00 Welcome to Talking FACS; what you need to know about family, food, finance and fitness. Hosted by the University of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program, our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families and communities to improve quality of life.
0:21 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: Hello and welcome to Talking FACS. This is your host, Dr. Jennifer Hunter, Assistant Director for Family & Consumer Sciences Extension at the University of Kentucky.
Today, I'm pleased to be joined by, Natalie Jones, our Extension Specialist for Family Health. Welcome, Natalie.
0:35 Natalie Jones: Glad to be here.
0:36 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: Today's topic, you titled Health Literacy. And as we were doing show prep, I said, “Okay, Natalie, what exactly is health literacy?” And you easily said, “Well, it's understanding what your doctor is telling you.” And I really think that that that that makes sense and it's a great topic for us to discuss because I feel like so often individuals can feel intimidated at the doctor or they might be using big words or talking about lots of medication. And it's just really hard to keep all of that straight.
So, I boiled that down into a really simple definition. But now you give us your definition of what is health literacy?
1:18 Natalie Jones: So, not my definition, but the CDC defines the health literacy as the degree to which an individual has the capacity to obtain, communicate, process and understand basic health information.
So, that's exactly what you're saying; being able to understand what the doctor is telling you, that that way, you can make those appropriate health decisions based on what they're telling you.
Health literacy is so important for everyone because at some point in everybody's lives, we're all going to have to be able to find out, understand and use different health services. 9 out of 10 (This is what's crazy) 9 out of 10 adults struggle to understand and use health information when it is unfamiliar, complex or jargon filled.
2:04 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: Yeah. Which, I mean, honestly, that's not that surprising to me and I'm going to confess here that I am one of those people that when I go to the doctor that if I don't understand, I tend not to ask a lot of questions.
2:16 Natalie Jones: Shame on you.
2:17 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: I know, but I don't want to be embarrassed or to seem like I don't know what's going on. So, it's kind of funny in our house; sometimes if I if I have a doctor's appointment, my husband will say, “Do I need to go with you to talk and listen, so that we know was what's actually said.”
And some of that just is that that I'm just not that open of a communicator and so, I just take what the doctor tells me and then try and reframe it in my own mind when I leave as opposed to really asking those questions.
2:47 Natalie Jones: But that is a great tip; if you don't feel like you're able to process or it's an overwhelming, especially if there is some type of serious condition going on, it is always great to have another set of ears in the room.
I can remember going to the pediatrician's office as a child and my mom would come and my dad would come. And my mom would be the talker, talking to my physician and my dad would be there with a notepad, taking notes.
So, really, it's always easier to have, if you want to have the whole family, maybe the doctor may not approve, but bring the whole family, so everyone knows.
3:21 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: I will say I have gone to the pediatrician's office with a notepad before, too.
3:24 Natalie Jones: Yes.
3:25 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: Why do you think we have such a health literacy problem in the United States?
3:29 Natalie Jones: Yes. So, 9 out of 10 adults struggle to understand. And so, basically that means that only 12 percent of the population understands what their healthcare provider is trying to tell them.
So, that can be due to general literacy issues. So, if they have issues with reading. But honestly, I think a lot of it comes from healthcare providers not presenting information into a normal person's words; it's always jargon.
3:57 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: Big words.
3:58 Natalie Jones: Right. Big words. And so, basically the best way is to try to use those clear communication means with that healthcare system. So, if it is a complex word that you don't understand, being able to feel confident enough to ask your doctor, “Can you explain that to me in normal terms?” or “Can you try again?”
And we'll talk a little bit more about how you can ask those questions, but basically, I also just want to talk about why we want to increase health literacy and ability to understand what our doctor is telling us.
Because it is kind of crazy when you think about it, is that preventative services (so, going to your doctor) according to research, if you don't have good health literacy, so if you don't understand what your doctor is telling you, then you're more likely to skip those preventative measures like mammograms or pap smears.
4:57 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: That makes complete sense because if you're not comfortable and if you do not feel as if you have that clear communication channel with your doctor, that it is something that you would just kind of naturally avoid.
5:09 Natalie Jones: Right. Same thing if you aren't understanding what your doctor is telling you, then there you could have serious issues with being able to manage chronic conditions, if you have medicine to take. So, example; that would be like high blood pressure or diabetes or asthma. And so, not being able to take your medication or being able to test your glucose for diabetes could be life changing for a patient. So, really important for that.
And then also, we know that hospital visits increase if people don't understand what their doctor is telling them, in terms of preventable care. And so, that makes healthcare costs go up for everybody.
5:51 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: Are there certain individuals that are more at risk, I would guess, to have a lower health literacy.
5:58 Natalie Jones: Yes. So, people who are more likely to have a low health literacy are older adults, racial or ethnic minorities, people with less than a high school degree or a GED certificate, people with low income levels, non-native speakers of English and people with compromised health status already.
So, that's a lot of people who are at risk for not only low health literacy, but for a lot of health and chronic diseases as well. So, those are the most important people who you really want to be able to understand what their doctor is telling them so that they can follow their treatment plan and be successful with that.
6:37 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: How can individuals improve their level of health literacy?
6:40 Natalie Jones: So, it's a lot of what we've just been talking about, about maybe it's bringing in a person with you to that doctor's visit, but also being able to ask questions so that you can better understand what your healthcare provider is telling you.
So, every time you go to talk to with a healthcare provider, that could be your doctor, it could be a nurse, because a lot of times you're dealing with a nurse or a PA more often than you are a doctor or a pharmacist. So, all of those people; the three main questions that you should ask is, “What is my main problem?” “What do I need to do? and “Why is it important for me to do this?”
We know that if people know why they need to do this, not just their doctor telling them to take this or do this, then they're more likely to do it. So, really understanding what the problem is, what you can do to fix the problem and why you need to do that.
7:31 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: So, what if an individual ask the questions to their healthcare provider, but they still do not understand the response?
7:37 Natalie Jones: Yeah, let them know; just exactly what we're saying. Don't be afraid to ask questions. If you still don't understand what you need to do after you've asked, “What do I need to do?” “Why is this important?” There is no need to feel rushed or embarrassed if you don't understand what they're saying.
So, then you might say, “This is new to me. Will you please explain that to me one more time?” And you can say that as many times as you need to say.
8:01 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: What about medications? How does that kind of fit into the whole concept of health literacy?
8:06 Natalie Jones: So, a lot of people go to more than one doctor. And so, it's really important that all of your doctors know what medicines that you are taking so that you can stay healthy.
And so, medications can be hard and tricky. If you don't understand what your doctor is telling you, then you may not be taking your medication properly. As well as being able to let all of your healthcare providers know what type of medicines you are on is going to help them also with their diagnosis or their treatment plan for you.
So, one of the tips that I would say, depending on your health status, is to write the names of all of your medicines down. And this includes more than what people think. So, those prescription medicines, non-prescription medicines (including aspirins), vitamins and any dietary or herbal supplements that you are on.
So, making sure that, you know, all of those. Some people may need to write those down and taking that with you to all of your doctor's appointments will really help figure out a treatment plan or figure out what's going on.
9:10 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: I have noticed that, and I guess as dietary and herbal supplements have become more and more popular and more individuals are using them, that at least our healthcare provider, on the form that you fill out or when they ask questions that used to just be what type of medicine do you take? But now, they specifically ask about dietary and herbal supplements and vitamins that they're trying to garner more of this information from the individual.
9:34 Natalie Jones: Right. Because it definitely can have a pull on different healthcare factors, especially if you're taking different medications and different things at the same time. So, making sure that those supplements may not be offsetting certain medicines that you're on.
9:48 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: As an individual is heading in to a doctor's appointment or to meet with a healthcare professional. What are some overall tips to have a successful appointment?
9:58 Natalie Jones: Yes. So, this is something that as an adult now I've had to do, because like I mentioned earlier, going to the pediatrician, I would have gone with usually both my parents or at least one of my parents.
And so, now going to doctor's appointments alone, it can be tricky and daunting. And I feel like we as adults, we have so much going on in our brains that it's hard sometimes to remember why we're going to our checkup or why we're going to a doctor's appointment.
So, what I do and what I would recommend is to write down your three questions or things that you want to ask your doctor during your appointment before you even go to your appointment. So, it could be on your notes page, on your phone, or maybe it's on a notebook or a post-it note or something that you take in with you to the doctor's office. So, that that way, you have a list and you're prepared to ask your doctor's questions.
A lot of times people, especially older adults, are afraid of asking questions; that White Coat Syndrome where they feel like they can't ask questions and that the doctor is the authority. But really, you are part of your healthcare team and so you need to help them help you by being a part of the conversation.
So, again, writing those questions out, knowing your medicines as well (like we mentioned earlier) and then any medical tests that you need or that you think that you might need, write that down. Same thing, if it's a surgery that you think you might need, write that down as well so you can talk to your doctor about it before; you can write it down before your appointment.
And then another thing also is just to always remember to ask questions; don't feel afraid or intimidated asking those questions during your visit. Again, what is my main problem? What do I need to do and why is it important for me to do this?
11:41 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: I will say that I do really love the tip of writing things down before you go into the appointment, because I do think regardless of what type of doctor it is, just anxiety kind of ramps up and you just don't think or the conversation goes one direction and you might forget.
But that's something that I do, especially with my kiddos, that when they're going in for maybe their yearly Well Child Check that I started a couple weeks before making a list on my phone of just all those little things that you just want to remember to ask about.
And I think it helps the conversation at the doctor's office because you're going down thoughts that you have already organized allows them to respond in an organized fashion. And also, you don't walk out the door and say, “Oh, I wish I had asked”, because it is sometimes very difficult to follow back up with our healthcare providers when you're not there talking to them face to face.
12:37 Natalie Jones: And it can be hard too. I feel like when you're in in that office setting (and a lot of people fall into that); it's a rush, there's people moving in and out, so they're like, “Mm hmmm? Yeah. Okay. Okay. Yep. Got it.” And then you walk out and you're like, “Oh, shoot. I forgot to ask.” You get back to your car and you’re like, “I forgot to ask all of these questions” that were just in your brains.
So, if you go in with that paper or with that phone, with that tab, all that information, then you're more likely to be involved in your healthcare treatment plan, which will hopefully lead to a more successful health overall.
13:09 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: Thank you, Natalie, for joining us today. Great tips on improving overall health literacy and just how to openly communicate with your healthcare providers.
13:19 Natalie Jones: Yes. Thank you for having me.
13:21 Thank you for listening to Talking FACS. We deliver programs focusing on nutrition, health, resource management, family development and civic engagement.
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Visit us online at fcs.uky.edu to learn more about the University of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension program or contact your local extension agent for Family and Consumer Sciences. We build strong families. It starts with us.
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