Friday, February 14, 2014

2 Health Literacy Skills and Growing Up

Health Literacy is (in English) the ability to make healthy choices and to navigate the health care system whether you are healthy or ill. There are 22 core skills and pieces of knowledge that go into making a person proficient at health literacy. And to some extent, those skills vary as you age.

When you are a child, your parents handle your health care needs and make most choices for you. No 4 year old has ever chosen to grow up un-vaccinated, in a smoking home, using an emergency room as a primary care doctor's office. (All, I hope you know, are low health literate behaviors.) Because we do not yet have comprehensive health literacy classes in schools and colleges, sadly what you learned at four is likely to follow you through to 14, 24, 44 and beyond. But in those few areas of the country where health literacy skills are being taught, children can learn to be their own health advocates.

One of the key skills to develop in health literacy training is the ability to communicate with your doctor. This is a skill that should be developed from toddlerhood on. I know what you are thinking! Toddlerhood? She's crazy! But stop and think for a minute. If your child is old enough to say "my finger has a boo-boo" to you, (s)he is old enough to say it to the doctor. You may have to give further explanations, "he slammed it in the car door," or "she burnt it on the stove." But learning from toddlerhood to talk to the doctor is a key skill to getting your child used to being able to give all their information to the doctor.

As your child ages, parent should allow their child to get the first chance to answer all the doctor's questions. When a child has told his parent that his throat hurts, and he is clearly running a fever, the parent is likely to assume strep throat and call the doctor. When the doctor asks if the child's ears hurts, or if his stomach is also upset, the parent really doesn't know. By answering for the child, usually with a "he didn't complain about that," the parent shuts down the child's ability to tell the doctor what he is feeling. What 6 year old is going to say, "well actually doctor my ears really are killing me, my throat is just even worse," when mom has already said no?

By the time you child is a pre-teen, the doctor should be asking you to leave the room for a few minutes. This is not so your child can be harmed, but for privacy as the doctor checks for hernias or asks "have you tried drinking alcohol?" There are just some things a teen will not say in front of their parent, but the questions still need to be answered truthfully to the doctor. Don't take it personally, be glad you taught your teen to trust their doctor and they have someone they trust who will take the time to ask the tough questions, and give correct answers to your teen's most personal questions.

Another key skill is the ability to fill out paperwork. By the time they can write their name on the little lines, you can begin to give your child their paperwork to fill out. At first, it might just be their name and phone number, but year after year, they will be able to fill out more and more of it with less and less of your help. Obviously, until they are 18, the parent will still need to sign all the forms, but they gain invaluable real world experience by filling out the forms as soon as possible. It will certainly make it easier for them to fill out their first job application, when they are already familiar with the medical forms. Also, there is a lot of questions on the intake forms on health history. This becomes a great chance for the parent to talk about the family's medical history (your grandmother had breast cancer, your Grandpa Charlie died of a heart attack when you were 2) that might not get discussed anywhere else.

As always, if you have any questions about the information contained within this blog, feel free to email me at Info@healthliteracyforall.org.

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