Europe’s aging population is leading to a growing number of people affected by chronic disease, which will continue over the coming decades. Healthcare systems are under pressure to deliver appropriate care, partly due to the burden imposed on their limited financial and human resources by the growing number of people with (multiple) chronic diseases. Therefore, there is a strong call for patient self-management to meet these patients’ healthcare needs. While many patients experience medication self-management as difficult, it poses additional challenges for people with limited health literacy. This thesis aims to explore the needs of patients with a chronic disease and limited health literacy regarding medication self-management and how support for medication self-management can be tailored to those needs.
DOCUMENT
OBJECTIVE: To provide an overview of available strategies and tools that support physiotherapists to recognise patients with LHL and to adapt the physiotherapeutic communication during the diagnostic phase.METHODS: PubMed, Embase, CINAHL and PsycINFO were searched for publications appearing between 2000 and June 2024. Additional grey literature was searched up till October 2022. Studies were included if they described strategies and tools aimed at supporting communication with patients with Limited Health Literacy in physiotherapy. Exclusion criteria focusing on general health literacy prevalence, behavioural interventions, or basic communication training.RESULTS: Out of the 9960 unique studies identified by our literature searches, 314 full-text studies were assessed and 98 met the inclusion criteria. The data on strategies and tools were extracted into the following six categories: verbal communication (n = 3), written communication (n = 34), digital device (n = 9), questionnaire (n=19), interpreter (n = 22), and other media (n = 2). Within these categories, tools and strategies were further classified based on the communication aims. Some tools and strategies were uncategorisable.CONCLUSION: While various strategies and tools exist for recognising patients with limited Health Literacy, they are often generic and not tailored to the physiotherapeutic context. This scoping review identifies a gab in physiotherapeutic approaches, particularly on those that go beyond information provision.PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: To improve communication in physiotherapy practice, there is a need for the development of tailored strategies and tools that reflect the specific dynamic of the physiotherapeutic process. We recommend engaging in design-based research that involves both patient and physiotherapist to co-create tools and strategies. In the meantime, physiotherapists are advised to use general communication strategies and tools and refer to our resources to select tools that best align with their specific goals.
DOCUMENT
Objectives: The animated medication information tool ‘Watchyourmeds’ provides information in an accessible manner through animated videos and therefore appears to be especially suitable for people with limited health literacy. This study aimed to assess the implementation of this animated medication information tool in Dutch community pharmacies, with a special focus on patients with limited health literacy. Methods: A cross-sectional survey based on the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework was sent to approximately 75% of the ±1900 community pharmacies in the Netherlands through email newsletters of pharmacy networks. Key findings: 140 pharmacists (⁓10%) completed the survey and 125 of them (89%) indicated that they offered the animated medication information tool to their patients. 108 pharmacists indicated that the tool was offered to all patients, not only to patients with limited health literacy. The distribution method was primarily passive (patients were given a leaflet and were not explicitly pointed to or informed about the tool). Two frequently cited motivations for offering the tool were that it complemented other sources of information and that the health insurer provided a financial incentive. The main reasons patients refused to use the tool were that they had no access to or no affinity for the required technology. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that the tool is used in community pharmacies and that it is offered to all patients, regardless of their presumed health literacy level. A more active method of offering the tool may be warranted to better reach patients with limited health literacy.
LINK
