Health Literacy Month

Health literacy is so crucial as everyone at some point in their life will encounter the health care system whether for their own sake or a loved ones. There are challenges to understanding health information and navigating the healthcare system that often keep people from seeking medical attention. The healthcare system is complicated and ensuring everyone can understand it is an effort taken up by healthcare organizations. Acknowledging the complexity of the health care system and providing help in health literacy supports people as they find, understand, and ultimately use their health information and services. In an effort to catalyze these efforts, this is health literacy month.

Defining Health Literacy

Health literacy can be understood one of two ways, either personal health literacy or organizational health literacy. Personal health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others. Organizations health literacy is the degree to which organizations equitably enable individuals to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others,

Helpful Health Tips under Freedom Home Care’s “Our Services”

Here at Freedom Home Care we take health literacy very seriously so that you are at ease and understand your body as well as how to take care of it. If you navigate to the Our Services along the navigation bar there are two drop downs that can provide helpful information about chronic disease management and at home modifications. These are just some helpful tips when trying to adjust lifestyle movements for a specific disease or pain, such as arthritis. Home modifications are also an easy way for you to navigate in a safer way in your own home. Of course the option to reach out and ask for further support as your navigate your health is always accessible and encouraged.

Helpful Health Tips under Freedom Home Care’s “Resources”

If you navigate over to the furthest dropdown on Freedom Home Care’s navigation bar you will see three helpful health literacy aids: Northshore Community Experts, COVID-19 Resources, and Virtual Senior Center. Northshore Community Experts is a series of interviews across many different fields, wherein we get to hear advice and observations straight from professionals and how it helps Freedom Home Care’s specific populations. For example, we spoke to Dr. Brodsky, a Dermatologist, about skin health and to Dr. Papagianis about common foot problems and how to take care of them. Freedom Home Care is also able to direct you to COVID-19 resources and we conduct a free online “Zoom” discussion every Monday morning at 10am Chicago time. Feel free to sign up for that at this address: https://www.nssc.org/.

Health Literacy is a Click Away

Don’t wait for your health to fail or mysterious decline, start looking around now for ways to improve the quality of your life. Freedom Home Care has professionals standing by to provide in home care services for you or your loved ones.