Güner Müberra Devrim, Ekmekci Perihan Elif
1 Departments of Medical Pharmacology, TOBB Economy and Technology University Medical School, Ankara, Turkey.
2 Departments of History of Medicine and Ethics, TOBB Economy and Technology University Medical School, Ankara, Turkey.
Inquiry. 2019 Jan-Dec;56:46958019865831. doi: 10.1177/0046958019865831.
Health literacy (HL) is considered as an interaction between the demands of health systems and the skills of individuals. The current global approach demands health professionals to be more accountable for universal precautions approach and improve communication skills, and employ strategies to confirm patients' understanding. The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge and attitude of health care professionals (HCPs) about HL and their communication skills, and its effect on their practices, and to compare the findings among subgroups of HCPs. An online cross-sectional survey involving 29 items was developed for sociodemographic and professional characteristics and knowledge, attitude, and practices evaluation. Health care professionals reached by occupational organizations and social media platforms. Among the 277 participants that answered the questions, 184 were physicians and 78 were nurses, and 37.99% of physicians and 18.42% nurses heard about the term "HL" through this survey. Most of the participants stated their willingness to receive information/training on the subject and that knowing HL level would change their approach to and outcomes of the patients. Nurses were using a variety of methods that improve communication with patients and considered HCPs' lack of knowledge of the concept of "HL" and their neglect of HL as obstacles to its evaluation more than physicians. These results emphasize the urgent need of initiatives to be taken to improve the awareness of HCPs of HL and the subsequent incorporation of these initiatives into the daily health care services they provide. Nurses' awareness of HL is higher and they are already better at incorporating HL-sensitive items into their practices. Both graduate and continuing education programs need to be modified to improve HL knowledge of all HCPs and its positive effects on health care. The current structure of the roles and responsibilities of these professions needs to be improved to make it more HL sensitive.
健康素养（HL）被视为卫生系统需求与个人技能之间的一种相互作用。当前的全球方法要求卫生专业人员对普遍预防措施方法承担更多责任，提高沟通技能，并采用策略来确认患者的理解。本研究的目的是评估卫生保健专业人员（HCPs）对HL的知识和态度及其沟通技能，以及其对他们实践的影响，并比较HCPs亚组之间的研究结果。针对社会人口统计学和专业特征以及知识、态度和实践评估，开发了一项包含29个项目的在线横断面调查。通过职业组织和社交媒体平台联系卫生保健专业人员。在回答问题的277名参与者中，184名是医生，78名是护士，37.99%的医生和18.42%的护士通过本次调查听说过“HL”这个术语。大多数参与者表示愿意接受关于该主题的信息/培训，并且了解HL水平会改变他们对待患者的方式和患者的治疗结果。护士们使用各种方法来改善与患者的沟通，并且比医生更认为HCPs对“HL”概念缺乏了解以及他们对HL的忽视是评估HL的障碍。这些结果强调迫切需要采取举措来提高HCPs对HL的认识，并随后将这些举措纳入他们提供的日常医疗服务中。护士对HL的认识更高，并且他们已经更善于将对HL敏感的项目纳入他们的实践中。研究生教育和继续教育项目都需要进行修改，以提高所有HCPs的HL知识及其对医疗保健的积极影响。这些职业目前的角色和责任结构需要改进，以使其对HL更敏感。
