Health literacy for healthcare professionals

Health literacy is now recognised as an essential part of quality, patient-centred care, but a large number of patients struggle with health literacy – understanding and using health information to manage their treatment and care.

Cancer health literacy poses a particular set of challenges compared to other types of health literacy, as patient decisions and treatment schedules are often complex, and timely decision-making can be critical. Health literacy challenges can be compounded by the distress associated with a cancer diagnosis.

Clear, efficient communication is vital to help patients to understand and make decisions about their treatment and to manage side-effects. Using established health-literacy friendly techniques can make interactions more effective, saving time and avoiding unnecessary follow-up and service use.

NALA / Irish Cancer Society surveyed cancer nurses in 2019. The nurses asked for health literacy support, particularly audio-visual and training resources. To respond to this need, the Irish Cancer Society and the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) have developed a short e-learning module, supported by MSD Ireland.

The 20-minute self-directed resource aims to:

• Raise awareness of the impact low health literacy can have on cancer patients.
• Give healthcare professionals a chance to learn or refresh their awareness of health-literacy-friendly communication techniques to support their interactions with cancer patients.