Health literacy and patient autonomy
Authors:
O. Doskočil; J. Šimek
Authors‘ workplace:
Ředitelka: Mgr. Vlastimila Ptáčníková, Ph. D.
; Zdravotně sociální fakulta
; Ústav humanitních studií v pomáhajících profesích (UHP)
; Jihočeská univerzita v Českých Budějovicích
Published in:
Prakt. Lék. 2023; 103(1): 15-20
Category:
Of different specialties
Overview
The current topic of health literacy is usually presented separately from the issue of health care ethics. However, the contemporary emphasis on the importance of increasing the level of health literacy of the population in the provision of health care is based on the same assumptions as modern medical ethics emphasizing the competence of the autonomous patient to make responsible decisions in the care of his own health. Health literacy is a prerequisite for the realization of patient autonomy. As a result of the massive social changes that took place in the 20th century, the right to self-determination of the individual strengthened, even in the context of medicine. From a passive recipient, the patient became an active participant in health care. At the same time, medicine and the organization of the health system have become more complex, differentiated and specialized, so it is not easy to understand the information obtained. The ability to understand health information and use it to make appropriate health care decisions is one of the basic characteristics of health literacy. The concept of health literacy thus significantly expands and enriches the understanding of many concepts used in medical ethics since its inception. It allows a new insight into some aspects of Beauchamp-Childress principialism, which is now a traditional method of ethical reasoning in medicine. In addition to the concept of the patient’s competence, it is also necessary to take into account his capacity to make health decisions in health care.
Keywords:
health literacy – health care ethics – patient autonomy – competence and capacity
Sources
1. Šimek J. Lékařská etika. Praha: Grada Publishing 2015.
2. Ratzan SC. Health literacy: Communication for the public good. Health Prom Int 2001; 16(2): 207–214.
3. Simonds SK. Health education as social policy. Health Educ Behav 1974; 2(1): 1–25.
4. Pleasant A., Kuruvilla S. A tale of two health literacies: Public health and clinical approaches to health literacy. Health Prom Int 2008; 23(2): 152–159.
5. Selden CR, Zorn M, Ratzan SC, Parker RM. Current bibliographies in medicine: Health literacy, 2000 [online]. Dostupné z: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/archive/20061214/pubs/cbm/hliteracy. pdf [cit. 2023-01-30].
6. Kumaresan J. Health literacy work of the World Health Organization. In: Health Literacy: Improving Health, Health Systems, and Health Policy Around the World: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press 2013.
7. WHO. Constitution of the World Health Organization Geneva. World Health Organization, 2006 [online]. Dostupné z: https:// apps.who.int/gb/bd/pdf_files/BD_49th-en.pdf [cit. 2023-01-30].
8. Beauchamp TL, Childress JF. Principles of biomedical ethics. 7th ed. New York, Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press 2013.
9. Mahowald MB. Bioethics and women: across the life span. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2006.
10. Nairn T. What we have here is a failure to communicate. The ethical dimension of health literacy. Health Prog 2014; 95(4): 61–63.
11. Weiss BD. Health literacy and patient safety: help patients understand. Manual for clinicians. American Medical Association Foundation 2007 [online]. Dostupné z: https://www.ufjf.br/ getmedicina/files/2015/11/BARRY-WEISS.pdf [cit. 2023-01-30].
12. Nielsen-Bohlman L, et al. Health literacy: a prescription to end confusion. Washington, DC: National Academies Press 2004.
13. Ganzini L, Volicer L, Nelson WA, et al. Ten myths about decision- making capacity. J Am Med Dir Assoc 2004; 6(3): 263–267.
14. Jonsen AR, et al. Clinical ethics: a practical approach to ethical decisions in clinical medicine. 8th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing 2015.
15. Velek J. (ed.). Spor o liberalismus a komunitarismus. Praha: Filosofia 1996.
16. Etzioni A. Morální dimenze ekonomiky. Praha: Victoria Publ 1995.
17. Sedláček T. Ekonomie dobra a zla. Praha: 65. pole 2012.
18. Hopper E, Weinberg H. (eds.) Sociální nevědomí. Praha: Irene Press 2016.
19. Kickbusch IS. Health literacy: addressing the health and education divide. Health Prom Int 2001; 16(3): 289–297.
20. Sørensen K, Pelikan JM, Röthlin F, et al. Health literacy in Europe: comparative results of the European health literacy survey (HLS-EU). Eur J Public Health 2015; 25(6): 1053–1058.
21. Kučera Z, Pelikan J, Šteflová A. Zdravotní gramotnost obyvatel ČR – výsledky komparativního reprezentativního šetření. Čas. Lék. čes. 2016; 155(5): 233–241.
22. van der Heide I, Wang J, Droomers M, et al. The relationship between health, education, and health literacy: results from the Dutch Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey. Health Prom Int 2001; 16(3): 289–297.
23. Kutner M, Greenberg E, Jin Y, Paulsen, C. The Health Literacy of America´s Adults. Results from the 2003 national assessment of adult literacy. Washington, D.C.: National Center for Education Statistics 2016 [online]. Dostupné z: https://files.eric.ed.gov/ fulltext/ED493284.pdf [cit. 2023-01-30].
24. Bártlová S, a kol. Porovnání zdravotní gramotnosti u vybraných cílových skupin Jihočeského kraje. In: Bártlová S, a kol. Zdravotní gramotnost u vybraných skupin obyvatelstva Jihočeského kraje. Praha: Grada Publishing 2018.
Labels
General practitioner for children and adolescents General practitioner for adultsArticle was published in
General Practitioner
2023 Issue 1
Most read in this issue
- Non-neoplastic portal vein thrombosis
- Pain and neuromodulation – new possibilities
- Health literacy and patient autonomy
- Communication pitfalls in the treatment of obesity and overweight