This poem speaks to several health care injustices; one important issue it alludes to is health literacy. Health literacy is very much connected to global health because it refers to an individual's ability to understand information about their health and follow medical advice or orders from health care professionals. In a recently updated systematic review of ninety-six studies, researchers have found that low health literacy is associated with poorer ability to understand and some health care services (Berkman, Sheridan, Donahue, Halpern & Crotty, 2011).
A health care system is of little use to individuals who do not understand how or when to utilise it, or how to interpret the information supplied from it. To be specific, it is critically important for health outcomes that individuals understand how to take their medication appropriately. They must understand how to interpret labels and health messages and furthermore how to fill out medical forms and information, they need to understand when it is appropriate, or necessary to utilize emergency services and how and where to access preventative services (Berkmean, Sheridan, Donahue, Halpren & Crotty, 2011). Although this study mainly focuses on Americans, it also examined several global studies which found that elderly people with low health literacy all over the world experience significantly lower health status (Berkman, Sheridan, Donahue, Halpren & Crotty, 2011).
The solution to many of these problems should be quite simple and straightforward. Health care providers need to remove medical jargon from their vocabulary and instead use plain language. Written information provided to patients should also be written clearly and in everyday language. Health care professionals should also take the time to review all written information with patient to ensure that he or she understands what they are reading, or if they can in fact read it at all. Furthermore, it is also important to be culturally sensitive as certain words may have different meanings across different races, or ethnicities as well as cultural generations. In this situation health care professionals should also use the teach back method, which asks patients to repeat what they have heard. This method helps the health care provider to recognize if the patient has understood their instructions, and additionally assist the patient to better retain what has been discussed (Osborn, Cavanaugh & Kripalani, 2010).
