by With the rise of digital healthcare tools and abundant online resources, we live in an era where healthcare information is more accessible than ever. This information is essential to tracking a person’s health journey, but without insight into complex data and medical jargon, test results can leave patients wondering what it all means.
This highlights the crucial role of health literacy – not only in interpreting results, but also in empowering individuals to make informed choices about their wellbeing. To explore this topic in honor of Health Literacy Month, The Everyday spoke with Fredrick R. Schumacher, associate professor in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences and co-leader of the Cancer Prevention, Control and Population Research Program at Case Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Schumacher has been actively involved in health care efforts, including work in East Palestine, Ohio – following the spill of toxic chemicals from a derailed train last year – where understanding the health impacts has become increasingly important for the community.
Read on to discover his insights on improving health literacy.
Q: What is health literacy? Why is it important?
Schumacher: Most people want to make informed decisions, especially regarding their overall health and how to maintain their health. Health literacy is the ability to find, understand, and integrate health information into their decision-making process. This is important for making informed health decisions.
Question: What role do (or should) health care providers play in increasing their patients’ understanding of health information?
Schumacher: Healthcare providers are one of the most important sources for collecting, assessing and communicating an individual’s health information. Their training and experience give them a better understanding of health information so they can provide accurate and up-to-date guidance. However, the ability of healthcare providers to be partners with patients, rather than merely guides, makes for a better relationship.
Q: How can individuals better understand their medical test results?
Schumacher: Medical and health information is ubiquitous these days, especially now that the majority of people own smartphones and have access to the internet. The ease of access to information does not always lead to accurate or helpful responses. It is best to work with your healthcare providers, building on the relationship, to address specific issues. Ask questions and review multiple resources.
Q: How does cultural background influence health literacy, and what steps can be taken to address these differences?
Schumacher: Most likely, cultural backgrounds bring different expectations, both from patients and healthcare providers. This will impact health literacy and the relationship between healthcare providers and patients. Neither party should take things for granted and make sure they ask questions and provide thoughtful explanations.
Q: What impact do you think digital health tools (such as apps and online portals) have on health literacy and patient advocacy?
Schumacher: These tools provide timely updates and can contain as much information as needed. Unfortunately, they do not provide context for the test result and there are limited options for questions. This will change as patients, doctors and healthcare systems use them more often. However, the healthcare community will need to ensure that these tools do not contribute to widening the gap in health disparities.
Q: Tell us about your team’s work in Eastern Palestine and how health literacy plays a role in your success there.
Schumacher: Our research in Eastern Palestine focuses on measuring genomic biomarkers, specifically somatic mutation rates, and correlating exposure to environmental hazards. This produces a complex amount of health information that the research field is only at the beginning of interpreting and integrating with health risks.
Our research team built a relationship with the community by being as honest as possible about what we would learn, what we could learn, and how it could impact their health. Residents asked questions and some participated in our research. This process marked the start of a relationship to better understand the consequences of the train derailment. Literacy went both ways as we learned about potential symptoms and health effects in the community, and we described our genomic biomarkers. This has been very important to our continued work and success in the community.
