Health literacy in pharmacy

Evaluation of instruments to assess health literacy in Arabic language among Iraqis

“…The reading part has two prose passages while the numeracy section includes four questions that evaluate understanding of glucose monitoring, prescription labels and appointment slips. 2,11 The reading sections of the S-TOFHLA test included this statement: "fill in the blanks using a word from a list which best completes the sentence grammatically and contextually." The passages are related to preparation for an upper gastrointestinal X-ray and Medicaid rights & responsibilities.…”

“…and understand health-related information such as in a physician appointment slip, medication labels and pamphlets. 2 Health literacy is not only basic literacy, but also knowledge of health-related topics. A limited literacy does not mean illiteracy, which is inability to read or write.…”

Pharmaceutical health care and Inuit language communications in Nunavut, Canada

“…read, write and speak) health-related information” (7). Although closely associated with language proficiency, health literacy also incorporates elements of mathematical understanding to affect abilities such as interpreting nutrition labels and dosing formulae as well as administration instructions and healthy lifestyle advice.…”

Confronting inequities: A scoping review of the literature on pharmacist practice and health-related disparities

“…85,86,87 Upon this foundation, research focuses on deficits in the pharmacists' awareness 245 about societal level health inequities, inexperience with marginalized populations at risk for 246 disparate health outcomes, [88][89][90][91] and gaps in services for rural or low SES groups, racialized 247 peoples, and/or populations with limited English proficiency or literacy. More specifically, this 248 latter area of research on health care disparities has examined racial/ethnicity differences in 249 immunization rates and other clinical services, 74,[92][93][94][95] reduced access to pharmacies, medications, 250 or services, particularly within rural or poor urban areas, [96][97][98][99] service gaps related to language or 251 health literacy supports, [100][101][102][103][104] or a general lack of interest/willingness of pharmacists to work in 252 underserved areas. 105 Again, there is a body of aligned literature not using the language of 253 disparity, but which shares a focus on service gaps related to provision of accessible labels, 254 services to non-English speaking populations, those with limited literacy, [106][107][108][109][110][111][112][113][114][115][116][117][118][119] or the availability 255 of a full range of medications and/or pharmacy supports in underserved communities.…”

“…A small portion of the literature on accessibility of services overlaps with 357 work on adequacy in terms of population focus, but more often considers the availability of 358 translation services for people with limited English proficiency 100,[102][103][104]106,110,111,115,[117][118][119] or 359 clear communication (including language, visual supports) for people with limited literacy/health 360 literacy. 78,101,107,109,[112][113][114]116 Also addressed are deficits in culturally competent services for those 361 in non-dominant cultural communities 81,108 and logistical service constraints, including 362 "medication deserts" (i.e., limited pharmacy hours, insufficient medication stocks) faced by low 363 income or rural communities. 96,99 Notably, researchers have observed that even when 364…”