Parental misconceptions about antibiotics linked to poor health literacy levels in Latino population

Health Literacy Colleagues,

 

A February 4th 2013 article in Medical Xpress caught my attention.  Entitled “Parental misconceptions about antibiotics linked to poor health literacy levels in Latino population", it will be found at

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-parental-misconceptions-antibiotics-linked-poor.html
 

I wonder if you think the findings from this Columbia University study are useful or important.

 

David J. Rosen

djrosen123@gmail.com

Comments

Thanks, David!

To me, this is a perfect example of how far reaching health literacy can be, and how it can affect not just individuals and families but public health in general. Although in this study they tested HL by "reading comprehension" (a misconception in itself), this story shows how important scientific and cultural knowledge become in the the journey from reading information to taking care of the public's health. (Remember the four domains of health literacy, According to Pleasant and Zarcadoolas in Advancing Health Literacy, include scientific and cultural domains. The other two are fundamental and civic.)

Clearly, a bit of scientific knowledge about antibiotics is important, as is an awareness of the differences in how cultures treat illnesses. And in this case, the overall resistance to antibiotics affects public health.

Low literate adults need to learn some basic health concepts, and both new immigrants and health care providers and educators need to have a sense of their patients' beliefs and health habits. What are programs doing to work on scientific knowledge and cross-cultural education?

I would love to hear more comments!  -Julie