1 / 6

Health Literacy for American Seniors: An Overview

Staying healthy is essential for seniors, especially for those who are above 70. Because an older adult is more prone to heart attack, stroke, dementia, diabetes, lung disease, chronic pain, some types of cancer and other health concerns. A healthy lifestyle and health literacy can lower these risks.

stonecrestkanas
Télécharger la présentation

Health Literacy for American Seniors: An Overview

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Health Literacy for American Seniors: An Overview

  2. Elders should have a basic knowledge about their health condition, treatments and everything in between so that they can make appropriate health decisions.   Staying healthy is essential for seniors, especially for those who are above 70. Because an older adult is more prone to heart attack, stroke, dementia, diabetes, lung disease, chronic pain, some types of cancer and other health concerns. A healthy lifestyle and health literacy can lower these risks. According to CDC, limited health literacy is associated with “increased health disparities, poor health outcomes, increased use of health care services, and several health care safety issues, including medical and medication errors”.

  3. What is the Reason for Limited Health Literacy and How Does It Affect Elder’s Health? The primary reason behind this low health literacy rate is an elder’s attitude towards health and lifestyle. For example, many seniors think that it is no reason to care for their health as they have few years to live, discouraging them from trying new treatments and to eat or exercise properly.  Lack of physical exercise, medical care, and healthy diet leads to these elders losing the ability to use their body and mind. It can even shorten their lifespan.

  4. Why America Should Be Serious About Health Literacy? • It is estimated that the US will have over 70 million older persons ageing 65 or above by 2030, accounting the 20% of the total population. So, there is a need to support health literacy in the nation.  • 80 percent of elders in the USA have at least one chronic medical condition, requiring them to locate a health care center and understand complex health information. These things can be complicated with people knowing nothing about hospital cultures and medicines.  • Some older adults hide their problem as they have a fear of being embarrassed or ashamed. They hesitate to ask necessary health questions or misunderstand the physician’s prescription or guidelines. • This is why there is a strong need to emphasize health literacy in the nation so that our elders can get better medical assistance.

  5. How to Promote Health Literacy among Our Senior Loved Ones? • Whether the seniors are at home or in a senior living communities, they should be • encouraged to do the  following things to help them make better health decisions. • Keeping up with the ongoing development in healthcare and the changing roles of healthcare providers. • Choosing a primary care physician carefully. • Having the basic knowledge about their medical condition. • Choosing the right healthcare plan that gives access to different doctors and pays for their care. • Clarifying all doubts and concerns about the quality of care, medicines, and signs while meeting the physician.

  6. THANK YOU

More Related