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Healthcare Literacy Name Institution Affiliation Healthcare Literacy Introduction Healthcare literacy refers to the capability to gather, interpret and understand crucial medical knowledge and services that are essential in health decision-making (Rose, 2012). In other words, individuals with a health literacy have the necessary skills to control their health and avoid disease. Health literacy is also a resource that people can integrate into their daily lives and use it in different health contexts (Brabers et al., 2017). This element consists of cultural and linguistic competencies, a focus on patient trust, respect and positive health outcomes, among others (Rose, 2012). Therefore, for health professionals to perform better in their work, they must possess a high level of healthcare literacy. The level of healthcare literacy also depends on a variety of factors, namely, age, education, race, income level, health status, language and so forth, which in turn affect people’s health (Rose, 2012). For instance, populations that tend to have low healthcare literacy include the elderly, those with an education below high school level, English as second language speakers, and low income earning individuals, among others. Healthcare literacy is therefore essential for patient care since every individual will need to find, understand and apply health information at some point in their lives. The Impact of Health Literacy on Patient Care Health literacy is critical to patient care as it ensures that individuals (patients and health practitioners) have a broad knowledge of health issues and topics. This information is essential for both patients and physicians as they
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