Discover why health literacy is essential in home care, helping patients and caregivers make informed decisions for better outcomes and quality of care.
Overview
Patients often take for granted the importance of understanding the what, when, why, and how of the care they receive. Caregivers are no less guilty – unintentionally, they might miss that a patient has tuned out of a procedural explanation due to a lack of comprehension.
This is where health literacy comes into play. Caregivers who can generate engagement in their patients tend to get better health results and experience more satisfaction. Patients become more engaged in their care when they have a comprehensive understanding of the care they are receiving.
To increase both patient and caregiver satisfaction and improve health outcomes, home care agencies should give their staff the tools they need to engage patients and make sure they are equipped with the knowledge to make important decisions about their own health.
What is Health Literacy?
Understanding health literacy is the first step in improving caregiver communication and patient outcomes. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) defines health literacy with a two-pronged approach: personal versus organizational.
Personal health literacy is the ability of a patient to locate and understand health-related information or services, then subsequently make accurate decisions about their own health.
Organizational health literacy is the ability of an organization or agency to facilitate patients in finding, understanding, and using health-related information and services.
Simplifying Health Information
The organization, or home care agency, takes on the responsibility for improving both their patient’s and staff’s health literacy – and rightly so. It is up to the agency to hire skilled staff and to ensure their continued certifications where applicable. It is also up to the agency to simplify information for their patients when they have questions about the care they receive.
Home care agencies can hire skilled caregivers and nurses with a patient-centric outlook on care. They can also provide patients with forms and materials in multiple languages about conditions they have and the required care for those conditions, along with clearly written directions on treatments and medications.
Both organizational and personal health literacy are strengthened with the right Home Care Management Software. Home Care Software that has a patient and family portal where patients can not only view their billing statements, but also access the forms that pertain to their care, can allow patients and families to have the right information as soon as they need it. The right Home Care Software will also allow staff to easily access a centralized patient profile where all the patient’s health information can be found when patients or family members call with questions.
Patient Engagement
Active engagement is key to improving a patient’s health literacy and ensuring that they are receiving the best possible care. Engaged patients are more likely to follow treatment plans and work alongside their doctors, nurses, and caregivers to make informed health decisions.
Patients can also benefit from open communication with their care team. Home care agencies and caregivers should encourage questions, ask patients to express their concerns, and ensure they participate in decision-making. Agencies and caregivers should also offer health information readily during the visit, as well as directing patients to the portal or to trusted websites to learn more.
Continued open communication helps patients learn to trust their care providers. Engaging patients, especially reluctant or reticent ones, takes patience and time. But the satisfactory results are well worth the increased effort.
Support for Caregivers
It’s no secret that caregivers across the country have a large range of health literacy skills. In a recent study, 44% of caregivers demonstrated they had adequate knowledge, 36% demonstrated marginal knowledge, and 20% had low health literacy skills. In an adjusted analysis, the caregivers who had marginal to low health literacy had worse performance on daily tasks, and lacking interpretation of health information that pertained to their patients. This resulted very quickly in poorer health outcomes and health literacy for their patients.
It behooves home care agencies to hire skilled caregivers who put a premium on health literacy when possible, and to provide training to caregivers in their charge who may not have as much experience in their field.
Beyond keeping up with regular health and medical training and certifications, the HRSA recommends that health care professionals:
Expect that patients may not understand everything.
Use short sentences, speak slowly, and ask patients if they do understand.
Apply the teach-back method by asking patients to explain instructions given to them and demonstrate how to take medication correctly.
Listen to patients without interruption.
Conclusion
Home care agencies who prioritize both personal and organizational health literacy can benefit from multiple positive outcomes. Agencies that invest in Home Care Management Software have the tools more readily available to improve health literacy.
Health information can be simplified while communicating with the patient, and by giving patients and family members access to important documents and information on a family portal. Caregivers can encourage patient engagement by using the teach-back method, educating their patients while providing care, and listening to patients when they express their concerns. Home care agencies can ensure caregivers are health literate by providing more training.
Expanded health literacy in both caregivers in patients can better patients’ health outcomes, decrease emergency room visits by ensuring people seek out preventative care, reduce the number of dosing errors, help patients manage chronic conditions, and increase patient satisfaction.
FAQs About Health Literacy in Home Care
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Health literacy in home care refers to the ability of patients and caregivers to find, understand, and use health-related information to make informed decisions about care. It includes personal health literacy for patients and organizational health literacy for care agencies.
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Caregivers with strong health literacy skills can better communicate with patients, simplify complex health information, and ensure patients understand their care plans. This leads to improved health outcomes and greater patient satisfaction.
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When patients understand their health and treatment options, they are more likely to actively participate in their care, follow treatment plans, and collaborate with caregivers, leading to better health outcomes.
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Caregivers can use techniques like:
Speaking slowly and clearly.
Using simple, non-medical language.
Employing the teach-back method to confirm understanding.
Providing written materials in multiple languages.
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Home care management software with features like patient portals can provide patients and families with access to health documents, treatment plans, and educational resources, making it easier to stay informed and engaged.
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Agencies can offer ongoing training, encourage certifications, and provide resources that simplify health information to ensure caregivers are equipped to communicate effectively with patients.
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Improved health literacy leads to:
Better patient outcomes.
Reduced emergency room visits.
Fewer medication errors.
Improved management of chronic conditions.
Increased patient and caregiver satisfaction.
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Caregivers can create a supportive environment by:
Actively listening to patients without interruption.
Encouraging open communication.
Validating patient concerns and addressing their questions with clear answers.
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The teach-back method involves asking patients to repeat instructions or demonstrate a skill (like taking medication). It ensures they fully understand the information and can apply it correctly.
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Challenges include varying levels of health literacy among caregivers, complex medical terminology, and patients’ limited ability to understand or retain health-related information.
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Simplified information ensures patients can easily understand their care plans, reducing confusion, preventing errors, and fostering greater trust between patients and caregivers.
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Personal health literacy focuses on a patient’s ability to understand and use health information. Organizational health literacy pertains to a care agency's ability to provide accessible, clear, and actionable health information to patients and caregivers.
About CareVoyant
CareVoyant is a leading provider of cloud-based integrated enterprise-scale home health care software that can support all home-based services under ONE Software, ONE Patient, and ONE Employee, making it a Single System of Record. We support all home based services, including Home Care, Private Duty Nursing, Private Duty Non-Medical, Home and Community Based Services (HCBS), Home Health, Pediatric Home Care, and Outpatient Therapy at Home.
CareVoyant functions – Intake, Authorization Management, Scheduling, Clinical with Mobile options, eMAR/eTAR, Electronic Visit Verification (EVV), Billing/AR, Secure Messaging, Notification, Reporting, and Dashboards – streamline workflow, meet regulatory requirements, improve quality of care, optimize reimbursement, improve operational efficiency and agency bottom line.
For more information, please visit CareVoyant.com or call us at 1-888-463-6797.
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