Medicina Comunitária e Educação em Saúde

Abstrato

Health Literacy Skills in Relatives ’ Speech: A Canadian Case-Study

Marie-Eve Mc Clure and Annie Rochette*

Objective: Exploring how health literacy skills are expressed by relatives of two first stroke survivors and the influence of such skills on their participation in the rehabilitation process.
Methods: This case study consists of a secondary analysis of qualitative material focusing on perceived health services received by relatives post-stroke. Two cases were purposively selected for their contrast in educational attainment.
Results: Four core concepts, in accordance with current HL conceptualization, emerged from the analysis. Themes related to understanding and communicating health-related information was prominent. More specifically, comprehension and linguistic skills, and particularly the use of medical terminology, as well as self-confidence appear to be conducive to a better dialogue with health professionals and lead to more satisfactory answers.
Conclusion: The relatives’ speech provided indications about health literacy skills and confirmed their importance in developing self-determination. Fostering an open dialogue with relatives represents an opportunity to consider their skills when establishing a partnership and thus contributes to the development of greater health literacy and participation.