Promoting Health Literacy in Fijian Healthcare and Community Settings

Abstract

Health literacy (HL) is the key to communicating important medical and health information in “plain language”. Plain language is a term meaning language that can be easily read and understood, generally considered at the 8th grade level. In this review we will define health literacy in terms of fundamental, cultural, and scientific health literacy. A second objective of the paper is to identify and discuss health conditions among the Fijian population. A focus on chronic disease prevention is selected as this population faces high rates of for diabetes, heart disease, HIV/STDs and other chronic diseases. Third, we will discuss the best forms of communication to adequately address disease prevention and health promotion among this at-risk population. Fourth, we will present effective and culturally appropriate interventions to improve health literacy skills for primary health providers, and their patients.