Health literacy strategies: a Caribbean approach

Abstract

Low health literacy is linked to poor health outcomes. Adequate health literacy depends on effective communication between patients and their healthcare providers, so it is important that physicians use health literacy strategies. This review article provides a brief account of the evolution of health literacy which shows a clear need to improve rates worldwide. It also addresses the relationship between the use of health literacy strategies and health outcomes; the physician’s role in health literacy including their implicit biases, training, gender, and region of training; and recommendations to improve policy-making, practice, and education in a Caribbean context. The implications for positive social change include the potential for health literacy training and inclusion in medical school curricula. The provision of health literacy training at all levels of education and practice aid in ensuring physicians are knowledgeable about the health literacy process, able to use strategies that can improve patients’ health literacy, and able to improve patient health outcomes. Recommendations on improving community literacy by engagement and empowerment are also discussed.