Health Literacy in the Inpatient Setting: Implications for Patient Care and Patient Safety.

Glick AF1, Brach C2, Yin HS3, Dreyer BP4.

Author information

1: Department of Pediatrics, NYU School of Medicine, NYU Langone Health, Bellevue Hospital Center, 462 1st Avenue, Administration Building 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10016, USA. Electronic address: alexander.glick@nyulangone.org.
2: Center for Evidence and Practice Improvement, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 5600 Fishers Lane, 5W08, Rockville, MD 20857, USA.
3: NYU School of Medicine, NYU Langone Health, Bellevue Hospital Center, 550 1st Avenue, NBV 8E 14, New York, NY 10016, USA.
4: NYU School of Medicine, NYU Langone Health, Bellevue Hospital Center, 550 1st Avenue, NBV 8E-11D, New York, NY 10016, USA.

Abstract

Health literacy plays a role in the events leading up to children's hospitalizations, during hospital admission, and after discharge. Hospitals and providers should use a universal precautions approach and routinely incorporate health-literacy-informed strategies in communicating with all patients and families to ensure that they can understand health information, follow medical instructions, participate actively in their own/their child's care, and successfully navigate the health care system. Interventions that incorporate health-literacy-informed strategies and that target patients/families and health care systems should be implemented to improve patient outcomes and patient-centered and family-centered care.