Dr Emmanuel Rupert, Managing Director and Group CEO, Narayana Health highlights that socioeconomic, cultural, and different educational backgrounds in India influence health literacy levels. Rural and marginalised populations frequently encounter challenges to understand and receive health information
India’s healthcare system, which serves 1.4 billion people, is vital and plays a critical role in providing medical services to its vast population. However, numerous challenges limit its effectiveness and accessibility. Improving health literacy nationwide can help improve India’s healthcare system. Health literacy—the ability to obtain, understand, and utilise health information—is essential to individual well-being and a robust health care system.
Understanding health literacy
Reading, comprehension, numeracy, and critical thinking help people make informed health decisions. It involves understanding of medical terminology, healthcare system navigation, health information interpretation, and active healthcare decision-making.
Health literacy in India
Socioeconomic, cultural, and different educational backgrounds in India influence health literacy levels. Rural and marginalised populations frequently encounter challenges to understand and receive health information.
Challenges
- Low education: Poor educational backgrounds, especially in rural regions, lowers health literacy. Illiteracy and lack of formal education prevent people from understanding health information and getting proper care.
- Health literacy is hampered by India’s linguistic and cultural diversity. Many people can’t grasp health information in languages they don’t speak, making health decisions difficult.
- Limited health awareness programmes: Minimal health promotion and public awareness efforts hinder health literacy. Misconceptions and poor health practices result from inaccurate health information.
- Complex healthcare system: India’s healthcare system is complex, especially for individuals with minimal health literacy. Navigating the system, understanding health insurance, and getting adequate healthcare can prove daunting.
Robust healthcare requires health literacy
- Empowered decision-making: Health literacy helps people make healthcare decisions. They can understand their health issues, treatment alternatives, and preventive measures for making well-informed choices and enhancing health outcomes.
- Disease prevention and management: Health literacy encourages preventive measures, early detection, and management. Knowledge helps people adopt healthy lifestyles, get timely tests, and follow prescribed treatments, minimising preventable disease.
- Effective healthcare utilisation: Health literacy enables individuals navigate healthcare institutions. They can utilise resources efficiently by accessing appropriate healthcare, understanding medical instructions, and communicating with doctors.
- Reduced healthcare disparities: Health literacy reduces urban-rural and socioeconomic healthcare disparities in society. It helps people seek appropriate healthcare, understand their rights, and advocate for better services, minimising disparities.
- Strengthening public health initiatives: Health literacy enhances health promotion. They can promote preventive measures, community-based health initiatives, and accurate information.
To make informed health decisions, we need dependable, accurate health information and services. Health literacy is crucial for well-being as it prioritises illness prevention and early detection. It also helps seek appropriate healthcare services. Improved health literacy will enable Indians to make the best health care decisions and actively engage.
Health literacy builds a strong, inclusive healthcare system. By addressing barriers such as low education levels, language diversity, limited health awareness programs, and complex healthcare systems, individuals can be empowered and ensure a better understanding of their health. A comprehensive multifaceted approach must be taken to improve health literacy. Integration of health literacy in primary healthcare, school-based health clubs, health workshops in workplace, community health workshops using mobile health units, engagements of social media influencers to impart health messages of national importance are some of the important strategies that can help promote health literacy.