Health literacy — scientific statement from the American Heart Association (July 10, 2018) with commentary

Streszczenie

In July 2018, the American Heart Association (AHA) released a statement on the relevance of health literacy in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. As emphasised by the AHA, actions undertaken with the intention of improving health literacy status will be crucial in achieving the 2020 Impact Goal. They are also essential for designing and implementing prevention campaigns and in coordinating initiatives within the public health sector. Health literacy is defined as “the degree to which individuals are able to access and process basic health information and services and thereby participate in health-related decisions”. Skills and competencies related to health literacy include also an ability to understand physician’s recommendations, hospital procedures, plan of treatment and visits, other principles within the healthcare system as well as the content of educational materials. Thus, a low level of health literacy might be reflected in practice by limited awareness of one’s own health status or applied treatment, resulting from or contributing to ineffective doctor-patient communication as well as to further failure to use drugs as prescribed or delayed response to disease symptoms. The aim of this article was to introduce Polish recipients to the key elements of the AHA’s statement.