Importance of Medication Reconciliation as a Strategy for Health Literacy

Mapping Intimacies ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-8824-6.ch013 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 224-237

Author(s):

José Manuel Feliz ◽

Marta Barroca

Keyword(s):

Health Literacy ◽

Communication Skills ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Medication Reconciliation ◽

Drug Regimen ◽

Communication Model ◽

Professional Relationship ◽

Patient Health ◽

Model Technique

Health literacy depends on communication skills of health professionals. Assertiveness, clarity, and positivity (ACP) are a communication model/technique very useful to improve the patient-health professional relationship, adherence to treatment, health literacy, and quality of life. This model can be used in medication reconciliation (MR) – the identification of the most precise list of medication that a patient has been taking and should take, which requires a multidisciplinary participation and a better communication between health professionals and between them and the patient. When the guidance from healthcare professionals is clear and effective, patients and caregivers are more compliant to the recommended drug regimen, resulting in better health outcomes.

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Educational Strategy in Digital Health Literacy

10.4018/978-1-7998-8824-6.ch005 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 75-101

Author(s):

Sandra Cristina Laia Esteves ◽

Ana Sofia Lourenço Lopes

Keyword(s):

Health Literacy ◽

Communication Skills ◽

Critical Literacy ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Digital Health ◽

Educational Strategies ◽

Related Information ◽

Health Related ◽

Positive Results

The acquisition of health literacy levels is preponderant in enabling citizens to access, understand, and use health-related information in a more conscious and responsible way in making health decisions. The ACP model—assertiveness, clarity, and positivity—has revealed numerous positive results in health, an excellent contribution to health literacy, as it favors the acquisition of communication skills and therapeutic relationship between health professionals and patients. The use of pedagogical audiovisual techniques (PAT) is one of the best educational strategies in health and facilitates digital dissemination. This project aimed to raise the awareness of health professionals, through the PAT. As a methodology, the authors follow a literature review and the functional, interactive, and critical literacy model. They applied this PAT to health professionals, associated with a knowledge monitoring instrument. The use of the ACP model promotes an improvement in the quality of care provided and, in turn, resulting positive results in health.

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ACP Model-Assertiveness, Clarity, and Positivity

10.4018/978-1-7998-8824-6.ch001 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 1-22

Author(s):

Cristina Vaz de Almeida

Keyword(s):

Health Professional ◽

Communication Skills ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Communication Model ◽

Convenience Sample ◽

Patient Health ◽

Probabilistic Study ◽

Aggregated Model ◽

Level Of Understanding ◽

Depth Interviews

The level of understanding of health instructions by patients remains low, that is, most patients have difficulty understanding the indications of their health professional to continue to treat their health after leaving the consultation. The professional oversees the challenge of validating the understanding of the message by the patient. The aim of this study was to demonstrate how verbal and non-verbal communication integrated into an interdependent and aggregated model of specific communication skills—assertiveness, language clarity, and positivity—allow the health professional to be further strengthened and trained to obtain a better understanding of the patient health instructions. The mixed method with a qualitative and quantitative approach was used in a non-probabilistic study with a convenience sample of 484 health professionals, based on a questionnaire survey, 14 focus groups, and 7 in-depth interviews. The results obtained validated the communication model for health literacy, which the author calls the ACP model – assertiveness, clarity, and positivity.

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Is trained communication about desire to die harmful for patients receiving palliative care? A cohort study

Palliative Medicine ◽

10.1177/02692163211065671 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 026921632110656

Author(s):

Raymond Voltz ◽

Kathleen Boström ◽

Thomas Dojan ◽

Carolin Rosendahl ◽

Leonie Gehrke ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Palliative Care ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Professional Relationship ◽

Cohen’S D ◽

Patient Health ◽

Wish To Hasten Death ◽

Desire To Die ◽

Cohen's D ◽

Palliative Patients

Background: Palliative patients frequently express a desire to die. Health professionals report uncertainty regarding potential risks of addressing it. Aim: We aim to evaluate effects of desire to die-conversations on palliative patients. Design: Within a prospective mixed-methods cohort study, we trained health professionals in dealing with desire to die. Afterwards, they held conversations about it with patients. Effects on depressiveness, hopelessness, wish to hasten death, death anxiety, patient-health professional-relationship, and will to live were evaluated at baseline (t0), 1 (t1), and 6 weeks afterwards (t2). Results were analyzed descriptively. Setting/participants: From April 2018 to March 2020, 43 health professionals asked 173 patients from all stationary and ambulatory palliative care settings (within 80 km radius) for participation. Complete assessments were obtained from n = 85 (t0), n = 64 (t1), and n = 46 (t2). Results: At t1, patients scored significantly lower on depressiveness (med = 8, M = 8.1, SD = 5.4) than at t0 (med = 9.5, M = 10.5, SD = 5.8) with Z = −3.220, p = 0.001 and Cohen’s d = 0.42. This was due to medium-severely depressed patients: At t1, their depressiveness scores decreased significantly (med = 9, M = 9.8; SD = 5.1) compared to t0 (med = 14, M = 15.2; SD = 3.9) with Z = −3.730, p ⩽ 0.000 and Cohen’s d = 1.2, but others’ did not. All other outcomes showed positive descriptive trends. Conclusions: Desire to die-conversations through trained health professionals do not harm palliative patients. Results cautiously suggest temporary improvement.

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Health Professionals' Communication Competences as a Light on the Patient Pathway

International Journal of Applied Research on Public Health Management ◽

10.4018/ijarphm.2021010102 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 14-29

Author(s):

Cristina Vaz de Almeida ◽

Célia Belim

Keyword(s):

Health Literacy ◽

Focus Group ◽

Literature Review ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Factor Model ◽

Communication Model ◽

Patient Pathway ◽

Clinical Encounters ◽

Communication Competencies ◽

Three Factor

This article proposes a three-factor model of communication competencies inspired in literature review and evaluated and completed by Portuguese health specialists with expertise on health literacy, who were organized into four focus groups (n=25). The study includes a response to the lack of consensus in the literature as to what specific and operative competencies the health professional should perform in clinical encounters with the patients. All the participants in the focus group agreed and reinforced that an aggregated and interdependent model, which is composed of assertiveness, clarity of language, and positivity (ACP model), can be an effective health communication model.

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Food and Health Literacy

10.4018/978-1-7998-8824-6.ch012 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 208-223

Author(s):

Helena Alves de Carvalho Sampaio ◽

Lisidna Almeida Cabral

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Life Cycles ◽

Communication Model ◽

Food Literacy ◽

Food And Nutrition ◽

Under Construction ◽

The Impact ◽

Three Factor

Food literacy is a sub-field of health literacy with a concept under construction, but corresponds to the ability to read, understand, and judge the quality of information; to seek and exchange knowledge related to the topics of food and nutrition; to buy and prepare food; to critically reflect on factors which influence personal choices about food and understand the impact of these choices on society. In turn, the ACP model is a three-factor communication model (assertiveness, clarity, and positivity) that aims to optimize education based on health literacy. The aim of this chapter is to present a proposal for food guidance which combines the foundations of the ACP model and food literacy for the different life cycles. The guidelines for each cycle were adapted to the ACP model. In conclusion, the ACP model can be applied to food literacy actions in any life cycle. However, it is worth mentioning that the professional's communicational behavior needs to be aligned with the assertiveness competence so that such actions are in fact effective.

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Patients’ and health professionals’ attitudes and perceptions towards the initiation of preventive drugs for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: a systematic review of qualitative studies

BJGP Open ◽

10.3399/bjgpopen20x101087 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (5) ◽

pp. bjgpopen20X101087

Author(s):

Olla Qadi ◽

Nakawala Lufumpa ◽

Nicola Adderley ◽

Danai Bem ◽

Tom Marshall ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Primary Prevention ◽

Health Professional ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Antihypertensive Agents ◽

Qualitative Studies ◽

Professional Relationship ◽

Patient Health ◽

Prevention Of Cardiovascular Disease

BackgroundStatins and antihypertensive agents are recommended for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD), but they are not always prescribed to eligible patients.Design & settingA systematic review of qualitative studies.AimTo explore health professionals’ and patients’ attitudes towards cardiovascular preventive drugs.MethodMEDLINE, Embase, PsychINFO, CINAHL, ASSIA, HMIC, Conference Proceedings Citation Index, and Open Grey were searched for studies of qualitative design without restrictions on date or language. Two reviewers performed study selection, data extraction, quality assessment, and thematic synthesis.ResultsIn total, 2585 titles and abstracts were screened, yielding 27 studies, of which five met eligibility criteria on full text assessment. These included 62 patients and 47 health professionals. Five themes emerged about patient attitudes: questioning preventive drugs; perceived benefit and risks, such as improving quality of life; patient preferences; trust in health professional judgement; and family, friends, and media influences. Five themes emerged about health professional attitudes: addressing patient concerns and information; duty as a health professional to prescribe; uncertainty about preventive drug prescribing; recognising consequences of prescribing, such as unnecessary medicalisation; and personalised treatment.ConclusionThe attitudes of patients and health professionals regarding drug initiation for primary prevention reflect the complexity of the patient–health professional encounter in primary practice. For prescribing to be more adherent to guidelines, research should further investigate the patient–health professional relationship and the appropriate communication methods required when discussing drug initiation, specifically for primary prevention.

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Always Alert for the Unpredictable: Experiencing and Treating Migraine

Paidéia (Ribeirão Preto) ◽

10.1590/1982-432727s1201706 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 27 (suppl 1) ◽

pp. 413-421

Author(s):

Rebeca Veras de Andrade Vieira ◽

Gustavo Gauer ◽

Luciana Karine de Souza ◽

William Barbosa Gomes

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Communication Skills ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Phenomenological Analysis ◽

Qualitative Inquiry ◽

Previous Literature ◽

Adherence To Treatment ◽

Therapeutic Alliances ◽

Reference Hospital

Abstract: Migraine is a disease with serious impacts on quality of life. We conducted a phenomenological qualitative inquiry in order to understand how 10 female patients with migraine dealt with their disease and its treatment, at a headache unit of a reference hospital. Through a phenomenological analysis, we highlighted seven themes that connected participants’ experiences to those reported in the previous literature. We noticed that participants recurrently described their migraine experiences through metaphors. The communicative metaphors indicated an overarching theme of constant vigilance for the unpredictable. Participants felt lack of empathy from others during headache episodes, and showed ambivalence about several aspects of treatment. Our interpretation is that addressing to how patients communicate about their illness might help health professionals to establish stronger therapeutic alliances based on empathy and respect. Professionals’ communication skills are the primordial resource to facilitate adherence to treatment and its success.

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Considering Health Literacy in Cardiovascular Disease Management: A Qualitative Study on Healthcare Professionals’ and Patients' Perspectives

10.21203/rs.3.rs-1050514/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Adèle PERRIN ◽

Eléonore Damiolini ◽

Anne-Marie Schott ◽

Jéremy Zermati ◽

Estelle Bravant ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Literacy ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Implementation Strategies ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Face To Face ◽

Implementing Change ◽

Fishbone Diagram ◽

Patient Health ◽

Health Action

Abstract Background: Implementing practices adapted to patient health literacy (HL) is a promising avenue for improving their outcomes in the context of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The health communication skills of healthcare professionals (HCPs) and the quality of information provided are essential for low-HL patients. We aimed to explore HCPs knowledge about HL, patients and HCPs views on current practices regarding low-HL patients, and facilitators and barriers to adapting communication to patients’ HL level, in order to prepare the implementation of a complex intervention dedicated to improve CVD management for low-HL patients.Methods: We conducted face-to-face semi-structured interviews with HCPs practicing in cardiology units and patients hospitalized for CVD. Study design and analysis were based on the Theory of Planned Behavior for HCPs and the framework of Health Literacy and Health Action for patients. Deductive and inductive thematic analysis were used. Barriers and facilitators were structured into an Ishikawa fishbone diagram and implementation strategies were selected to address resulting themes from the Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC).Results: Fifteen patients and 14 HCPs were interviewed. HCPs had partial knowledge of HL dimensions. Perceptions of HCPs and patients were not congruent regarding HCP-patient interactions and information provided by hospital and community HCPs. HCPs perceived they lacked validated tools and skills, and declared they adapted spontaneously their communication when interacting with low-HL patients. Patients expressed unmet needs regarding communication during hospital discharge and at return to home. Conclusion: To implement HL-tailored practices in this setting, our results suggest that several implementation strategies will be valuable at individual (engaging patients and their family), interactional (educating and training of HCPs about HL) and organizational levels (creating a multidisciplinary HCPs interest group dedicated to HL). Trial registration: The study was registered on Clinical Trials: NCT03949309.

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Health literacy education programmes developed for qualified health professionals: a scoping review protocol

HRB Open Research ◽

10.12688/hrbopenres.13386.1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

pp. 97

Author(s):

Lauren Connell ◽

Yvonne Finn ◽

Rosie Dunne ◽

Jane Sixsmith

Keyword(s):

Health Literacy ◽

Health Professional ◽

Communication Skills ◽

Scoping Review ◽

Professional Education ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Current Evidence ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Health Professional Education ◽

Scoping Reviews

Introduction: Health professional education for health literacy has been identified as having the potential to improve patient outcomes and has been recognized as such in policy developments. Health literacy is an emerging concept encompassing individuals’ skills and how health information is processed in relation to the demands and complexities of the surrounding environment. Focus has been predominantly on the dimension of functional health literacy (reading, writing and numeracy), although increasing emphasis has been placed on interactive and critical domains. Such dimensions can guide the development of health professional education programmes and bridge the gap in the interaction between health professionals and their patients. Currently little is known about qualified health professional’s education for health literacy, its development, implementation or evaluation. Aim: To identify and map current educational interventions to improve health literacy competencies and communication skills of qualified health professionals. Methods: A scoping review will be conducted drawing on methods and guidance from the Joanna Briggs Institute, and will be reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) Checklist. This study will retrieve literature on health professional education for health literacy through a comprehensive search strategy in the following databases: CINAHL; Medline (Ovid); the Cochrane Library; EMBASE; ERIC; UpToDate; PsycINFO and Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL). Grey literature will be searched within the references of identified articles: Lenus; ProQuest E-Thesis Portal; the HSE health research repository and RIAN. A data charting form will be developed with categories agreed by the research team, including: article details, demographics, intervention details, implementation and evaluation methods. Conclusion: Little is known about the extent and nature of the current evidence base therefore in order to identify programmes and consolidate their demographics and characteristics within health literacy competencies and communication skills, a scoping review is warranted.

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