Health Literacy - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 747 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2017/09/13 Category Education Essay Topics: Literacy Essay Did you like this example? Health Literacy Health illiteracy has become referred to as the silent epidemic. According to the U. S. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Health Literacy" essay for you Create order Department of Health and Human Services website, the National Assessment of Adult Literacy showed only 12 percent of adults have proficient health literacy. That means nine out of ten adults may lack the needed skills to adequately manage their health and prevent disease. Healthy People 2010 define health literacy as â€Å"the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health care related decisions. These are the skills that people need to find the right place in the hospital, fill out insurance forms, and communicate appropriately with health care providers. The largest study of the scope of health literacy published to date found that one-third of the English-speaking patients in two public hospitals could not read and understand basic health-related materials. Sixty percent could not understand basic routine consent forms, 26 percent could not understand information on an appoin tment slip, and 42 percent failed to comprehend directions for taking medications. These findings were most prevalent in the elderly and those with chronic health problems. Those that had the greatest need to understand had the least ability to read and comprehend information needed to function adequately as a health care consumer. These statistics are shocking. Who’s at risk for poor health literacy? As for mentioned, the elderly and those with chronic health problems are at the greatest risk, but also racial and ethnic minorities, people with less than a high school diploma or GED certificate, those with low income, and those who speak English as a second language. Most individuals with limited health literacy go undetected by their healthcare providers. The majority of patients with limited health literacy skills have never told anyone, including their family members. What does this mean to you? Poor health literacy leads to poor health outcomes. Some of the complications of poor health literacy include delayed diagnosis of medical problems, poor disease management, increased hospital readmission rates, and increased healthcare costs. It was estimated in 1998 that between $35-73 billion was wasted in prolonged hospital stays and frequent doctors visits related to low health literacy† (Ickes, MEd Cottrell, DEd, CHES, 2010, p. 492). With all of the previously mentioned problems of poor health literacy, individuals who fall into these categories are also more likely to die at an early age. Is there a solution to this costly societal problem? The long-term solution rests in the hands of health education beginning in kindergarten and continuing throughout college. We need more community involvement with this issue. It not only affects the health illiterate but those that are very health literate. It raises the costs of health care enormously. Despite massive technological advances and that we spend twice as much per capita on healthcare in the United States, we remain one of the unhealthiest nations in the world. Low health literacy contributes to our grim future. We have high rates of infant mortality; increased mortality related to chronic, preventable disease processes; and cancer mortality could be greatly reduced by early detection. Health literacy is both a consumer and public healthcare issue. As a health care provider, it is not only my responsibility to ensure that you understand your health and what is going on within your body, but also your responsibility to make sure you understand. You have to take a proactive stance to guarantee you are doing everything possible you can do to stay healthy. A few statistics to keep in mind when taking loved ones to the doctor: 75 percent of patients with low health literacy have never told their spouses, 53 percent have never told their children, and one in five people have never told anyone that they have a problem with understanding appointment slips, prescriptions, or doctor’s instructions. We must educate society as a whole. It is not only my responsibility but also yours as well. As stated by Levy and Royne in The Impact of Consumers’ Health Literacy on Public Health, â€Å"Consumers must demand better from our educational institutions, our health care institutions, as well as ourselves. References Ickes, M. J. , MEd, Cottrell, R. , DEd, CHES (2010, Mar/April). Health literacy in college students. Journal of American College Health, 58(5), 491-498. doi: 2111084311 Levy, M. , Royne, M. B. (2009, June 1). The impact of consumers’ health literacy on public health. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 43(2), 367-372. Re trieved from www. ecampus. phoenix. edu U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n. d. ). www. health. gov

Taking a Look at Minimum Wage - 701 Words

Since employers are paying more money, they expected that their employees would increase both products’ quality and quantity. The businesses would concern about their employees’ ability by training their employees to be able to work more efficient. The businesses upgrade their employees, especially entry-level employees, to increase product’s quantity. In this case, the businesses tend to use technology, including robots and machines, to decrease the number of employees, and use their upgraded employees to work with the new technology. Upgrading own employees affect to labor markets because there would be fewer jobs that are offers in the markets. As a result, more people, especially entry-level people, have a difficulty to have a new job. However, this negative effect encourages currently employees to work harder because they do not want to lose their jobs. In addition, a situation, when employees have more money to buy their needs to support their family and themselves, would reduce employees’ worry and stress about their family, so the employees’ performances and efforts for their company would increase. Decreasing the number of new employees would reduce a turnover rate, a rate at which an employer loses employees. Generally, employees decide to turnover because other company offers them with higher salary and a better chance to improve their performance. The cost of employee turnover could cause up to 150% of their employment annually salary, which is estimated fromShow MoreRelatedIs It A Problem With Our Priorities? Essay1689 Words   |  7 Pageseven amateur athlete get more cheers and admiration than the person, who instead of taking unemployment, or partaking in illegal activities, or â€Å"going on the dole†, finds a way to get up every day and go to work and get paid less than a living wage. As a society we give athletes more respect than the person working themselves to death to house, feed, and clothe their family. A worker earning the federal minimum wage of $7.25 will gross $15,080 a year if they are lucky enough to work 40 hours everyRead MoreThe Effects Of Min imum Wage On The United States1168 Words   |  5 PagesResearch shows if minimum wage was to climb that it would hurt the least skilled and the least experienced people trying to seek a job the most. There are different of opinions people believe in about the positive and negative aspect of minimum wage. Supporters argue that such a boost will shrink poverty without plummeting jobs and that it will boost confidence, increase the normal living, and cut inequality and have businesses to be well-organized. Opponents that are not for minimum wage say it will increaseRead MoreShould Congress Raise The Minimum Wage?721 Words   |  3 PagesEcon 201 10 February 2017 Article Summary 1 Should Congress Raise the Minimum Wage Many states, including Oregon, has been considering a raise in the minimum wage. A raise of the minimum wage can cause job cuts or raise in product prices, but a rising number of economist have come to the conclusion that there is quite a considerable room of raise that cities can do without affecting the unemployment rate. Raising the minimum wage can ease the lives of many people. It can even cause an economic stimulusRead MoreRaising The Federal Minimum Wage1225 Words   |  5 Pages Study shows that wage increases do lower poverty, by 2.4% if wage at $8.00, consistent with other studies. (Washington Post/ Arin Dube) 1. Raising the federal minimum wage doesn’t cause substantial unemployment as most economists agree, including over 600 economists who wrote a letter to Congress urging a wage increase, and the Economic Policy Institute. A. Identify shortcomings of the opposition (fallacies they make, or weaknesses in the evidence they use) 1. Arin Dube’s study would be great,Read MoreThe Federal Reserve s Goal887 Words   |  4 Pagesadded over time. So, why is inflation out pacing minimum wage? The answer, because it will do harm to employees and business owners. Supporters of an increase in minimum wage, the McDonalds employees that demand $15 per hour, argue that they need a â€Å"living pay†. Furthermore, they state that it will bring workers out of poverty and will have little negative effects. There is evidence to support this claim. One of them being that when the minimum wage increased from $6.25 to $7.25, there was no immediateRead MoreThe Federal Reserve s Goal Essay897 Words   |  4 Pagespercent is added over time. So, why is inflation out pacing minimum wage? The answer, because it will do harm to employees and business owners. Supporters of an increase in minimum wage, the McDonalds employees that demand $15 per hour, argue that they need a â€Å"living pay†. They state that it will bring workers out of poverty and will have little negative effects. There is evidence to support this claim. One of them being that when the minimum wage increased from $6.25 to $7.25, there was no immediateRead MoreEssay The Importance of Increasing the Minimum Wage634 Words   |  3 Pages An adult supporting themselves on minimum wage is hard enough, but to support a family as well can send a person plummeting below the poverty line. The set minimum wage of $7.25 is not the minimum wage we think it is. Minimum wage workers are not just teenagers taking your orders at a fast food restaurant, they are people of any and all ages trying to earn enough money to put bread on the table. The causes of the inflation of minimum wage are a conglomerate of selfish political leaders, lackRead MoreRaising The Minimum Wage Increase On Employment And Family Income Essay877 Words   |  4 PagesRaising the minimum wage America’s economy is built upon the free enterprise system which operates according to five principles: the freedom to choose our businesses, right to private property, profit motive, competition, and consumer freedom. This system allows pricing of goods and services and employee wages to be determined by the market. Raising the minimum wage will adversely affect the pricing of consumer goods and employee wages and can temporarily disrupt our economic system. According toRead MoreThe Increasing of the Minimum Wage1140 Words   |  5 Pagesera where people are looking for more increasing on everything, and they look for the increasing every single day. One of the most political issues that are noticeable in 2014 is the idea of the increasing of minimum wage. An article that was written by a group of journalists in the Governing the State and Localities discusses this issue. They say that President Obama talked about increasing the minimum wage. The minimum wage is 7.5, and he wants to increase this number to be around 9 dollars. ThereRead MoreThe Wage Of The Minimum Wage871 Words   |  4 PagesWith the presidential elections right around the corner policy on minimum wage has come up for debate once again. William Hoar from The New American argues in his article â€Å"Misguided minimum wage mandate† that raising the minimum wage will only result in loss of jobs. According to the editorial board at USA Today, â€Å" inflation adju sted income of the top 1 percent has grown by 58 percent and the remaining 99 percent has only grown by 6.4 percent†. They then state that a raise to 15 dollars an hour only

Analysis on Two ways of seeing a river by Mark twain Free Essays

Now when I had mastered the language of this water and had come to know every trifling feature that bordered the great river as familiarly as I knew the letters of the alphabet, I had made a valuable acquisition. But I had lost something, too. I had lost something which could never be restored to me while I lived. We will write a custom essay sample on Analysis on Two ways of seeing a river by Mark twain or any similar topic only for you Order Now All the grace, the beauty, the poetry had gone out of the majestic river! I still keep in mind a certain wonderful sunset which I witnessed when steamboating was new to me. A broad expanse of the river was turned to blood; in the middle distance the red hue brightened into gold, through which a solitary log came floating, black and conspicuous; in one place a long, slanting mark lay sparkling upon the water; in another the surface was broken by boiling, tumbling rings, that were as many-tinted as an opal; where the ruddy flush was faintest, was a smooth spot that was covered with graceful circles and radiating lines, ever so delicately traced; the shore on our left was densely wooded, and the sombre shadow that fell from this forest was broken in one place by a long, ruffled trail that shone like silver; and high above the forest wall a clean-stemmed dead tree waved a single leafy bough that glowed like a flame in the unobstructed splendor that was flowing from the sun. There were graceful curves, reflected images, woody heights, soft distances; and over the whole scene, far and near, the dissolving lights drifted steadily, enriching it, every passing moment, with new marvels of coloring. 2 I stood like one bewitched. I drank it in, in a speechless rapture. The world was new to me, and I had never seen anything like this at home. But as I have said, a day came when I began to cease from noting the glories and the charms which the moon and the sun and the twilight wrought upon the river’s face; another day came when I ceased altogether to note them. Then, if that sunset scene had been repeated, I should have looked upon it without rapture, and should have commented upon it, inwardly, in this fashion: â€Å"This sun means that we are going to have wind to-morrow; that floating log means that the river is rising, small thanks to it; that slanting mark on the water refers to a bluff reef which is going to kill somebody’s steamboat one of these nights, if it keeps on stretching out like that; those tumbling ‘boils’ show a dissolving bar and a changing channel there; the lines and circles in the slick water over yonder are a warning that that troublesome place is shoaling up dangerously; that silver streak in the shadow of the forest is the ‘break’ from a new snag, and he has located himself in the very best place he could have found to fish for steamboats; that tall dead tree, with a single living branch, is not going to last long, and then how is a body ever going to get through this blind place at night without the friendly old landmark? † 3 No, the romance and the beauty were all gone from the river. All the value any feature of it had for me now was the amount of usefulness it could furnish toward compassing the safe piloting of a steamboat. Since those days, I have pitied doctors from my heart. What does the lovely flush in a beauty’s cheek mean to a doctor but a â€Å"break† that ripples above some deadly disease? Are not all her visible charms sown thick with what are to him the signs and symbols of hidden decay? Does he ever see her beauty at all, or doesn’t he simply view her professionally, and comment upon her unwholesome condition all to himself? And doesn’t he sometimes wonder whether he has gained most or lost most by learning his trade? How to cite Analysis on Two ways of seeing a river by Mark twain, Papers