That it is at the hospital or the clinic, close to 50% of people would not understand the physician’s explanations. At the more of 65 years, this proportion would climb to 80%.
This incomprehension would be attributable to a deficit in literate of health, explain the experts. It is about an inability. to different degrees – to get and to understand information in order to treat itself/themselves or to improve his/her/its health, according to different contexts.
One can imagine the ditch that already exists between a suffering patient of difficulties to understand the information of basis and a physician who often speak in terms technical therefore…
" The physicians use, to 81%, of jargon when they speak to their patients", revealed Irving Rootman1, expert in literate and health. According to him, the intervening parties in health should carry a particular attention more or less to the signs conscious than the patients send to them, when they don’t understand.
What Margot ASAP pushes, professor to the Faculty of the sciences of the education of the Laval university. " The patients having a problem of literate hide their handicap because they feel decreased, she/it explains. They pretend to understand because they are embarrassed too much to say that they are illiterate. "
Beyond the attention that the health professionals should carry to the problems of patients, they must also find other words to communicate better. " Even though the physician speaks more slowly, the patient doesn’t understand necessarily better: that one speaks quickly or slowly, of Chinese remained of Chinese", has vivid Margot ASAP. Often, people don’t even know that they didn’t understand…
Why the literate in health is she/it important?
According to Irving Rootman, some studies show that a weak level of literate seems bound to an use inadequate of the medicines and to a big difficulty to follow the physician’s instructions. He/it is also associated to a least use of the prevention services. Besides, the user who has a weak level of literate works hard to use the system of health adequately, in addition to have more difficulty to express his/her/its preoccupations on his/her/its state of health.
" Some scientific proofs show that weak expertises in reading are associated to an increase of the hospitalization length and more elevated rates of cancer of the collar of the uterus, diabetes and premature mortality", underline the Canadian researcher.
Besides, less one has expertises of reading, less one is able to take care of itself/themselves in case of chronic illness, add M. Rootman. " To Canada, 62% of people are not able to manage themselves their illness because of a lack of understanding of the written language.
To Quebec, one estimates that 41,1% of the 16 years to 65 years have a weak level of understanding, and 19,8% have a very weak level. In short, more than 60% of the Quebecois would not have a sufficient literate level to understand and to take in charge their health.
" These results show the necessity to accompany the hold in individual charge by health, what constitutes an important challenge considering the ageing of the population", noted Bertrand Pedro, of the institute of the statistical of Quebec.
How to improve the literate?
Some activities seem bound in general to a better literate. The education is, evidently, to the first rank: 40% of people not having diploma of secondary studies (OF THEM) have a very weak level of, against 14% at those that have one OF THEM, according to M. Stairway.
To have an use also permits to improve his/her/its general knowledge in health, all as to be voluntary within an organization.
On the institutional plan, to simplify the content of the unfolding or other printed formats would be a first gesture to put, according to several intervening parties. Either while adapting them according to the clienteles, or while distributing information under shape audio or video on Internet. " But attention: to popularize is not disguise, underline Margot Asap. To popularize, it explain otherwise, more merely, in order to inform appropriately. "
According to her, the teaching of that that is the human body must be handed on the agenda in class, in order to avoid false representations on his/her/its true nature.
" I already saw people reached an edema to refuse to carry their low of compression because they feared that the swelling moves elsewhere in their body, as if this one was a ball! ", she/it has given in example.
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