Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 11, 2026

E-Patient Counseling Trial (E-PACO): Computer Based Education versus Nurse Counseling for Patients to Prepare for Colonoscopy
06:28

E-Patient Counseling Trial (E-PACO): Computer Based Education versus Nurse Counseling for Patients to Prepare for Colonoscopy

Published on: August 1, 2019

The implications of health literacy on patient-provider communication

L Kari Hironaka1, Michael K Paasche-Orlow

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine/Boston Medical Center, 91 East Concord Street, 5th Floor, Boston, MA 02118, USA. lynn.hironaka@bmc.org

Archives of Disease in Childhood
|October 6, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Limited health literacy negatively impacts health outcomes and healthcare access, particularly for children. This review explores communication strategies to support families with low health literacy skills.

Area of Science:

  • Public Health
  • Communication Studies
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Limited health literacy is linked to adverse health outcomes, including reduced preventive care, worse chronic disease management, and increased hospitalization and mortality.
  • While most research focuses on adults, a growing body of evidence addresses health literacy in pediatric populations.
  • Understanding health literacy is crucial for effective patient-provider communication in families.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review existing research on health literacy in pediatric populations.
  • To identify communication skills associated with limited health literacy.
  • To explore strategies for improving patient-provider communication for clinicians caring for families with limited health literacy.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of studies on health literacy in pediatric populations.
  • Analysis of communication skills related to health literacy.
  • Synthesis of strategies to enhance patient-provider communication.

Main Results:

  • Limited health literacy is associated with poorer health outcomes in children.
  • Several communication skills are linked to challenges faced by families with limited health literacy.
  • Effective communication strategies can mitigate negative impacts.

Conclusions:

  • Health literacy is a significant factor in pediatric health outcomes.
  • Clinicians need targeted strategies to improve communication with families with limited health literacy.
  • Further research is needed to develop and evaluate interventions.

More Related Videos

Treatment Model for Young Patients with Psychogenic Erectile Dysfunction and Resultant Infertility04:22

Treatment Model for Young Patients with Psychogenic Erectile Dysfunction and Resultant Infertility

Published on: May 30, 2025

Related Concept Videos

Health Literacy01:21

Health Literacy

Health literacy is an individual's or a community's capacity to comprehend, receive, read, and use relevant healthcare information and services. The World Health Organization (WHO, 2018) defines health literacy as the cognitive and social skills that determine the ability of individuals to gain access to, understand, and use information in ways that promote and maintain good health. As a result, the WHO helps individuals manage long-term health concerns, participate in preventative programs,...
Barriers to Effective Communication II01:21

Barriers to Effective Communication II

The barriers to effective communication also include cultural barriers, semantic barriers, gender barriers, and time constraints.
Cultural barriers:
Differences in values, beliefs, religion, knowledge, and tradition can significantly impact communication. Awareness of nonverbal cues is critical, especially when conversing with a patient from a different culture. What appears appropriate in one culture may be inappropriate in another.
Semantic barriers:
As a result of their tendency to use...
Role of Communication in the Nursing Process II: Planning and Implementation01:25

Role of Communication in the Nursing Process II: Planning and Implementation

Several factors are considered while creating a patient's care plan. Motivation is a factor in improving communication, and patients often require encouragement to try different approaches involving significant change. It is essential to involve the patient and family in decisions about the plan of care to determine whether the suggested methods are acceptable. Consider meeting critical comfort and safety needs before introducing new communication methods and techniques. Allow adequate time for...
Therapeutic Communication01:30

Therapeutic Communication

Communication is a lifelong learning process. Through therapeutic communication, nurses can collect relevant assessment data, provide education and counseling, and interact during nursing interventions. Sending and receiving messages occur through verbal and nonverbal communication techniques and can happen separately or simultaneously.
Verbal communication depends on language or a prescribed way of using words so that people can share information effectively. The critical aspects of verbal...
Communication01:28

Communication

Sharing information, concepts, and emotions to foster mutual understanding is communication. The sender, recipient, and transaction must be considered in this manner. The sender is the person who shares the message, the recipient is the person who receives and understands the message, and the transaction is the method used to deliver the message and the variables that affect the communication's context and surroundings. The nurse-client connection is built on therapeutic communication.
Within...
Barriers to Effective Communication I01:30

Barriers to Effective Communication I

A communication barrier is any distortion or interruption during a conversation, resulting in miscommunication of the message. A good communicator should know these barriers and continuously check for the listener's understanding by obtaining feedback.
Communication barriers include the following:
Physiological barriers: They are limitations caused by a person's health condition or disability, such as hearing loss, poor eyesight, illness, or unconsciousness. An example to overcome this barrier...