The Singapore Family Physician  2012;38(3):24-26

Health Literacy ‐ Meeting Patient Needs

Vasuki Utravathy

Keywords

Tobacco use; Prevalence; Opportunistic intervention; WHO-RCTC; Reduce demand; Reduce supply; Smoking cessation

Country

Singapore

Language

English

Abstract

Smoking cessation is used to illustrate the application of health literacy principles to meet patients' needs. There are three areas to focus on : developing a health literate patient ; presenting information in a way that is easy to understand and use ; and creating a health literate delivery system that provides ready access to and delivery of health information and health services. The Health Choices ‐ flip chart tool kit for healthcare professionals launched on 1 September 2012 ‐ illustrates the elements of a health literate tool for communicating smoking cessation.