Leadership Management 1

Title: The state of health literacy in Canada

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Introduction

Most people in Canada are affected by health literacy as they find it very difficult to find

professional help when they are sick. Health literacy is how a person can achieve, communicate

and understand health information to make health decisions. It's also the ability to identify their

medication, understand how to take their medication, and understand the potential side effects.

People with low literacy in Canada tend to misunderstand warning labels. They cannot

understand how to take their medications and the potential side effects. Immigrants and

unemployed people in Canada have low levels of health literacy skills. According to the research

conducted in Canada, providing chronic patients with education on self-management could save

a lot of money per year. The health literacy tasks involve numeracy skills, prose literacy, and

document literacy. 60% of adults have low health literacy, while the 40% have low levels of

prose literacy (Murray et al., 2008).

Canadians have a higher health literacy than Americans. The average score of adults in

Canada for document literacy and prose literacy is below level three, which means that most

people can't read well enough to perform daily activities. Canada's health literacy is affected by

education, ethnicity, living in poverty, disability, and age. Education improves health benefits

and knowledge; thus, it improves skills like literacy, develops effective habits, and improves

cognitive ability. According to age, most adults are not health literate, which means that they

cannot understand, evaluate, communicate, and use the information to make inappropriate health

decisions.

In Canada, race affects health literacy, reducing health disparities, thereby marginalizing

the social forces causing health inequalities. Racial and ethnic populations experience high rates
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of health disparities (Zanchetta & Poureslami, 2006). Health literacy in Canada is also affected

by language, as people with high literacy skills have a lower degree of health literacy.

Education also affects health literacy in Canada, such that being well educated equates to a better

job. Some components ensure computer literacy, such as focusing on making well-informed

decisions, incorporating a public health perspective, and acknowledging that organizations have

a responsibility to address health literacy. People with lower levels of literacy live and work in

less healthy environments. Health professionals can improve the patients' health literacy skills by

ensuring that the information they provide is relevant and easy to use. They can also ensure that

families have relevant information to decide their children's health.

Health literacy in Canada has a lot of impacts, such as difficulty in reading prescribed

medication and health and safety education materials. Individuals with low levels of health

literacy have difficulties acquiring income security and employment. Families are more affected

as they cannot read prescriptions and baby formula instructions. To improve health literacy in

Canada, some actions like health communication, education, training, policy development, and

organizational development should be considered. Individuals should use information systems

that make it easier for doctors to work together with patients to improve health literacy in

Canada. They should engage patients and invest in primary care. They should also expand public

funding for treatments proven to be cost-effective

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References

Murray, T. S., Hagey, J., Willms, D., Shillington, R., & Desjardins, R. (2008). Health literacy in

Canada: A healthy understanding.

Zanchetta, M. S., & Poureslami, I. M. (2006). Health literacy within the reality of immigrants’

culture and language. Canadian journal of public health, 97(2), S28-S33.