Health literacy and surgery expectations in total hip and knee arthroplasty patients

Health literacy influences the ability to obtain, comprehend, and act on health information [1]. Nutbeam [2] describes “interactive health literacy” as a patient’s capacity to derive meaning from different forms of communication and to apply it for individual benefit. Low health literacy affects about 90 million Americans [1] and is a barrier to self-care; patients and their caregivers may lack the skills to u nderstand complicated instructions that deal with medications, wound care, self-monitoring, follow up schedules, and prevention behaviors.
Source: Patient Education and Counseling - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Source Type: research