What is the Respiratory Therapist's Role in Patient Health Literacy and Cultural Competency?

What is the respiratory therapist's role in patient health literacy and cultural competency?

Low health literacy has negative psychological effects. Research has found that those with limited health literacy skills reported a sense of shame about their skill level. As a result, that shame causes them to hide their reading or their vocabulary difficulties to maintain their dignity. As healthcare practitioners we need to do everything that we can to communicate in a way that does not further exacerbate that stigma and shame, instead gives this person a place of comfort where they feel good about communicating and sharing their information with us. 

What is your role as a respiratory therapist? 

• Ensure health-related information/education matches a person’s literacy abilities
• Provide information and education that promote self-management for optimum health and participation
• Facilitate health literacy by promoting systems of care or environments that adhere to health literacy principles and strategies

How many people do you encounter on a daily basis in your practice? As therapists, we can assist in making sure that all health-related information, all education that we provide to our patients, and to our colleagues match a person's literacy abilities, cultural sensitivities, cognitive, and social skills. When we look at the link to literacy, we as healthcare professionals are linked to health literacy because we stress the importance of somebody's capacities and participation to empower them. We do not look at our patient in silo, rather we promote a patient-centered practice. We make sure that we are delivering what our patients need. We teach information and we use different methods. We look at access to service and equity issues within our professions.

How can I improve my patient's health literacy? How do I integrate it within our practice? First, be informed about health literacy, and be able to recognize it. This refers to your knowledge, ability to identify challenging health literacy information, such as looking at a brochure and saying, “There is something amiss here.”

What can we do to make this easier to understand?

• What are their skills
• What are their beliefs
• What is their culture
• What are their barriers to healthcare

We can standardize practice to health literacy. We need to consider health literacy by making information accessible. This refers to the ability to improve how we use the information to educate our patients. We can adapt the information to the individual needs, circumstances, and abilities by combining the oral along with the written information, in very clear simple language for future reference, demonstration, audio, and/or visual aids. We can personalize the most important information. If it is not personal to them, they are perhaps not going to retain it. Communicating effectively and simply in an atmosphere that is conducive to that communication and teach-back method, gives you an opportunity to identify any misunderstandings and correct them before you move to another part of the education.

We can help our patients to make optimal use of health services, by increasing the quality of our own communication and strengthening our interactions. Create an environment where they are comfortable, encouraging questions, demonstrating an understanding attitude, having a shame-free environment, speak slowly, observing, and listen actively. Give patients the time to organize their thoughts to identify what their issues are, their constraints, and to formulate their questions. Foster empowerment by using a patient-centered approach, and giving them confidence in their ability to take more control in their life to make responsible decisions about their health.