How sick are you?
by Michelle Roberts — February 01, 2012
There was an interesting article in this month’s February issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science that clearly shows the implications that health literacy can have on our health.
The headline: How sick you think you are may play a big role in your health outcome.
Researchers from the University of Auckland and the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College found that the way people perceive their own illness is directly related to them seeking out health care and following doctors’ orders, and even their overall survival.
"Patients' perceptions of their illness guide their decisions about health," study researcher Dr. Keith Petrie, of the University of Auckland, said in a statement.
That is the dilemma at the heart of low health literacy. If we don’t really know the seriousness of what is happening to us, we can’t galvanize our actions to their highest, most effective good.
Personally, I’m much more likely to follow my doctor’s orders if I have a clear sense of how a health condition may impact my life. For example, being 15 pounds overweight doesn’t feel like an urgent health matter. But if you understand how it can contribute to everything from diabetes to cancer, you might be more likely to follow your doctor’s advice to change your eating and exercise habits.
The study, announced this week by the Association for Psychological Science, suggests that effective health care treatment plans are about much more than having a competent physician.
Says Petrie: “A doctor can make accurate diagnoses and have excellent treatments but if the therapy doesn’t fit with the patient’s view of their illness, they are unlikely to keep taking it.”
Petrie argues what health literacy common sense confirms: A treatment that does not consider the patient’s view is likely to fail.