Facts on Health Literacy

NOTEWORTHY: A FEW FACTS ON HEALTH LITERACY AND INTERNET USAGE
By Joanne P. Shelby-Klein BSN RN
The internet with its many search engines, including medical and health related websites, is readily available to you, the average consumer. According to the Pew Research Center for Internet, Science and Tech in January 2014:
87% of US adults use the internet
90% of US adults own a cell phone
58% of US adults own a smart phone
The Pew Research Institute also reports from a study conducted in September 2012 that:
 77% of online health information seekers started with one of the internet’s search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo.
 13% searched immediately on a site specializing in health information such as WebMD, while 2% started with Wikipedia first
 31% of cell phone owners used their phone to look up health or medical related information
 52% of Smartphone owners used their device to seek out health or medical related information.
When using computers and other internet abled devices to seek out information on health and medical topics, you can find yourself bombarded with an overwhelming number of websites, blogs, videos and social media sites that offer a wide variety of information. Not all of these health information sites are based on reliable peer-reviewed information or scientific research that is available to health care providers. You may find yourself looking at conflicting or inaccurate information and unable to understand the material presented. You are not alone, it is reported that 9 out of 10 Americans are unable to understand and follow through with the most basic health and medical information provided.
This concerns healthcare providers as the lack of understanding medical information can lead to the average consumer either not seeking medical attention when needed or over seeking medical attention when not really needed. This can lead to increased healthcare costs for everyone. The Journal of Health Policy Management article published in August 2015 shows there is an association between visits to healthcare providers, hospitalizations, and proper use of medications and other medical equipment and the consumer’s ability to find and understand basic health information.
To combat the confusion, misinformation and help people easily locate reliable, science based information, the website thescrutinizer.org was formed by Dr. Meenakshi Noll MD, PhD. The purpose of the Scrutinizer website is to be an advocate for you, the average consumer, who is concerned about their health and wellness by providing unbiased, reliable, sources and articles on a variety of topics such as nutrition, sports medicine and diseases. The principles of science based medicine and research is used to evaluate each article topic so that you can use your own critical thinking skills to learn what is fact and what is not.
To help you understand information on the most important topics in health care and medicine, the scrutinizer has put together a writing team that includes physicians, attorneys, registered nurses, social workers and dietitians to research the currently available literature and write short informational articles on the various topics. The Scrutinizer makes sure the resources used are science based and peer-reviewed by the experts on the various topics.
For more health and medical related information please visit www.thescrutinizer.org

References:
Rasu, R. S., Bawa, W. A., Suminski, R., Snella, K., & Warady, B. (2015). Health Literacy Impact on National Healthcare Utilization and Expenditure. International Journal of Health Policy and Management, 4(11), 747–755. http://doi.org/10.15171/ijhpm.2015.151
Pew Research Center Internet Science and Tech. (2014, January). Retrieved from URL: http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/health-fact-sheet/