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Journal Article 2016; 37(suppl 2): 11-17 PubMed PMID: 28233960 Citation  Keywords:  Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Czech Republic, Female, Health Literacy:statistics & numerical data, Humans, Information Seeking Behavior, Male, Qualitative Research,.   

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to map the selected indicators of health literacy in the senior population via a qualitative survey that focused specifically on its relationship with autonomy in the context of health literacy among seniors.

METHODS: A qualitative survey focused on the selected indicators of health literacy of seniors living in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic (R1-19). The snowball sampling method was intentionally selected. Completed interviews were transcribed and data was reduced, analyzed, and categorized. The identified categories were 1) information comprehension, 2) decision-making in healthcare, and 3) compliance with nonpharmacologic treatment.

RESULTS: The 'information comprehension' category clearly shows that the seniors involved in this study rated the comprehensibility of information provided by medical professionals as being good. An especially positive finding was that seniors do seek information through the internet, print sources, or other media, even though, as one senior (80-year-old woman) said, comprehension of medical information is becoming "more and more complex". The 'decision-making in healthcare' category touched upon opinions regarding informed consent and opinions regarding seniors' own involvement in healthcare. Results from this category suggest that seniors accept informed consent as a routine necessity. Inhibition regarding personal involvement in healthcare was also apparent: "... I come from a family accustomed to not bothering the doctor unnecessarily, so I just stick out my arm..." The last category of 'compliance with nonpharmacologic treatment' clearly shows that respondents are informed regarding lifestyle modifications that would benefit their treatment, although, few respondents had achieved the desired lifestyle changes.

CONCLUSION: Results of this qualitative research show clear health literacy limits among seniors. As shown in this study, age itself could also be a limiting factor of health literacy....

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Journal Article 2016; 37(suppl 2): 25-31 PubMed PMID: 28233957 Citation  Keywords:  Adolescent, Adult, Czech Republic, Female, Health Literacy:statistics & numerical data, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Patient Acceptance of Health Care:statistics & numerical data, Patient Participation:statistics & numerical data, Qualitative Research, Youn.   

: In this study, the question of health literacy in adult patient population in the Czech Republic is explored in the context of healthcare, particularly in the South Bohemian Region. The study is based on the analysis of qualitative data which were collected during the first half of 2016. The study included 34 adult participants at the age range between 18 and 64 years. The study is focused on the involvement of adult patients in the process of decision making concerning the healthcare provided. The views of this sort of problems were recorded by the technique of semi-structured dialogues. The study results have suggested that adult individuals accept the healthcare provided by doctors or nurses prevailingly with trust. In addition, they have shown that in the sphere of health education, the adults lack the knowledge of the right for information about the individual's health condition and information about the service provided by the health insurance agency. It is regarded as desirable to deal with the topic of health literacy of adult population, particularly in the area of internet counselling and telemedicine, and to develop the space for information sharing between the doctor and nurse on one side and the patient on the other.

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