Literacy in health and the challenge of sharing medical decision

• Autor(a) principal: Varela, Américo
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.25758/set.1501
• topic: Decisão partilhada; Literacia em saúde; Ganhos em saúde; Doente; Profissionais de saúde; Shared decision; Health literacy; Health gains; Patient; Health professionals

Some studies have shown the relationship between increased and more structured involvement of patients in clinical decision-making, the improvement of literacy in health, and the obtainment of health gains. However, the existence of misconceptions on the part of doctors and other health professionals may contribute to their low compliance regarding shared clinical decisions and discussion of treatment options, particularly with users with low levels of literacy. With this critical essay, we intend to clarify these misconceptions, by doing an in-depth reflection and analysis of communication’s key elements centered on patient–health literacy and shared decision. Relevant issues about literacy in health and shared decision were presented, on which critical content was developed. This development is the most extensive part of the essay. We transmitted the point of view of several authors and critical analysis, and we tried to illustrate these ideas with examples and research studies, thus validating the presented arguments and answering questions raised during the analysis. The final considerations of this critical essay stress that promoting increased user participation in clinical decision-making improves the level of health literacy, through patient-focused communication performed by qualified professionals taking into consideration social determinants, and health gains are obtained.