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Rural Health System Resources

BY RURAL PEOPLE FOR RURAL PEOPLE

Empowering healthy communities and individuals: removing barriers through health literacy

Authors

Haleon

Description

Health literacy, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), refers to an individual’s ability to “gain access to, understand and use health information in ways which promote and maintain good health for themselves, their families and their communities.” It is a key driver of health outcomes, as it helps individuals to develop the necessary understanding and ability to make informed decisions about their health. Promoting health literacy also empowers societies to navigate their health and wellbeing when healthcare services may be lacking or hard to access, which reduces health disparities and builds resilient communities. Low health literacy is a global challenge. Populations with low health literacy have limited knowledge about where and when to seek appropriate healthcare services, are less likely to seek preventative care, manage their health poorly and often face higher mortality rates. The impact is extensive: the estimated annual cost is AU$5-10bn per year. Hospital readmissions are the primary driver of these costs, as patients struggle to self-manage their condition. Low health literacy also increases the incidence of preventable health issues, drives up reliance on emergency services and leads to poorer health outcomes.

Why is this useful for rural and remote people?

Health literacy is the ability of individuals, and communities, to make informed decisions about how the decisions they make in their everyday lives impact on their health. We often assume that everyone knows that sugary drinks are linked to weight gain and obesity, which leads to heart disease and cancer, or that using vapes can lead to lung disease and an increase in dangerous toxins in the body. But not all people have this knowledge, or different people may understand these things in different ways based on their context, environment, education, geography, languished and socio-economic status. Health literacy is the critical building block on which good community and individual health rests. For example, ten years ago we didn’t know that cutting manufactured stone (such as kitchen bench tops) produced silicon dust that can lead to lung cancer and death. Now we have the science that proves that this is the case, we have engaged as a community in changes to the law and the delivery of educational programs to raise health literacy about the dangers of silicon dust to reduce avoidable deaths. Health literacy is an important tool for rural and remote people, and can be used to engage local people in a discussion about the things that may be contributing to poor health in your town. For example, if rates of Type 2 Diabetes are higher in your community relative to the State average, the community may wish to talk about why this is the case. We know, for example, that Type 2 Diabetes is strongly influenced by rates of consumption of sugary drinks and processed foods, and lower consumption of vegetables and lack of exercise. Once we understand what might be driving higher rates of Type 2 Diabetes we can start a discussion about things the community can do together to reduce it. For example, a community organisation like Rotary might established a Sunday Fun Run to encourage locals to exercise more; the local CWA or Aboriginal Land Council could produce a local low sugar and fat home cook book to encourage more people to eat nutritious foods; the local council could be lobbied to fund cold water bubblers on the Main Street to encourage increased consumption of water and a reduction in sugary drink intake. There are lots of things that communities themselves can do to reduce poor health, and demand for health care services, if we build health literacy into our planning.

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