INDH1006 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Chronemics, Nonverbal Communication, Jargon
26 May 2018
School
Course
Professor
Week 11 – Communicating and working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people and communities
Learning outcomes:
Health Literacy
‘Health literacy is about communicating health information clearly and understanding it correctly’
(Osborne, 2014, p. 1).
Figure 1: The Australian Commission on Safety & Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) (2014). A summary
for clinicians. p. 1.
The ACSQHC (2014) report on health literacy identified only 40% of Australians as having adequate
health literacy. People with low levels of health literacy are associated with:
• increased rates of hospitalisation and greater use of emergency care
• lower use of mammography and lower uptake of the influenza vaccine
• poorer ability to demonstrate taking medications appropriately
• poorer ability to interpret labels and health messages
• poorer knowledge among consumers about their own disease or condition
• poorer overall health status among older people
• higher risk of death among older people (ACSQHC, 2014).
Health Literacy and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People
As the ACSQHC (2014) report demonstrated the lack of health literacy in the general population exists
irrespective of cultural background. Most non-Indigenous health professionals are not trained to
identify health literacy barriers or how to communicate in a way that facilitates health literacy when
working with Aboriginal people. The potential for miscommunication/misunderstanding is significant.
It has been suggested that health professionals have a limited understanding of health literacy and
how low levels of health literacy impact Indigenous patients (Lambert et al., 2014).
The dominant expectation has been that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples can and should
speak English well enough to access and act upon health information provided by services today
(Taylor & Guerin, 2014). This expectation, reliant upon language proficiency alone, does not consider
the influence of worldview and culturally determined beliefs that influence the health care process.
Health professionals and their organisations need to do much more to improve the health literacy of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
1. Reflect on own personal development of communication skills as a health professional
working in collaborative partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
as patients/clients and/or colleagues.
2. Understand that culturally safe communication skills are fundamental to effective
engagement in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health setting
3. Recognise the significance of cross-cultural communication in achieving enhanced
health outcomes.
4. Identify strategies for culturally safe communication with Aboriginal and/or Torres
Strait Islander people.
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According to the ACSQHC (2014), to address health literacy in a coordinated way, action needs to be
taken across three areas:
1. Embedding health literacy into systems through program planning and designing healthcare
organisations that are easier for people to navigate.
2. Ensuring effective communication – providing print, electronic or other communication that is
appropriate for the needs of consumers. It also involves supporting effective partnerships,
communication and interpersonal relationships between consumers, healthcare providers,
managers, administrative staff and others.
3. Integrating health literacy into education – educating consumers and healthcare providers. This
could entail population health programs, health promotion and education strategies, school
health education, and social marketing campaigns as well as formal education and training of
healthcare providers.
Figure 2: ACSQHC (2014). National Statement on Health Literacy p. 2
General communication principles
Figure 3: DeVito (2013)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Week 11 communicating and working with aboriginal and torres strait islander people and communities. Health literacy is about communicating health information clearly and understanding it correctly" (osborne, 2014, p. 1). Figure 1: the australian commission on safety & quality in health care (acsqhc) (2014). The acsqhc (2014) report on health literacy identified only 40% of australians as having adequate health literacy. Health literacy and aboriginal and torres strait islander people. As the acsqhc (2014) report demonstrated the lack of health literacy in the general population exists irrespective of cultural background. Most non-indigenous health professionals are not trained to identify health literacy barriers or how to communicate in a way that facilitates health literacy when working with aboriginal people. It has been suggested that health professionals have a limited understanding of health literacy and how low levels of health literacy impact indigenous patients (lambert et al. , 2014).
