October 8, 2024 • 17 mins
Unlock the secrets to mastering personal health literacy and transform your understanding of healthcare. Join Antoine and Bry as they share personal revelations about the myths of youthful invincibility and the vital importance of health literacy at any stage of life. Together, they'll guide you through the essentials of managing your health, interpreting complex health information, and navigating the often perplexing healthcare system. By focusing on understanding chronic conditions, prescription instructions, and effective communication with healthcare providers, this episode promises to empower you to make informed health decisions like never before.
Confronting the challenges of health literacy, Antoine and Bry tackle the confusion caused by medical jargon, insurance intricacies, and cultural barriers head-on. They offer practical advice on overcoming these hurdles, from clear communication with doctors to the importance of asking questions and preparing for medical appointments with credible research. Listen in for an enlightening discussion that equips you with the tools to overcome obstacles and enhance your personal health literacy, ensuring a proactive and informed health journey.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello everyone, and welcome to the Journey Out
podcast, where we are designedto be the helping hand for
everyday people who are on theirExodus journey.
So I am your host, Brie, and wehave Antoine, the amazing
Antoine, the amazing father.
This month is Health LiteracyMonth, October is Health
Literacy Month, and so we wantto dive into a series concerning
(00:23):
health literacy, what it is andwhy it matters.
So let's jump on in.
What is home care?
How do I navigate health care?
Speaker 2 (00:30):
What do I do when I feel down and depressed?
Speaker 1 (00:33):
I'm stressed Am I enough?
What can I do?
What is this going to cost?
So let me define a little bitabout what health literacy is.
So I'm going to use my handydandy notepad I have in front of
me.
So personal health literacy ishow well a person can find,
understand and use informationand services to make decisions
about their own health and thehealth of others.
(00:53):
Now there is another definitionfor organizational health
literacy, and it is how wellorganizations equitably help all
people find, understand and useinformation and services to
make decisions about their ownhealth and others.
So today we're not going toworry about organizational
health literacy, we're justgoing to focus on the personal
health literacy part of this.
And so the importance ofpersonal health literacy is
(01:16):
really the person's ability tomanage their health, prevent
illnesses and then also engagewith health care providers.
And so, from that definitionand from kind of where we stand,
I know right now we're healthcare professionals, you know,
and we don't know everything,but we've been in the field a
very long time.
And so, before we got to thispoint, what would you say your
(01:37):
health literacy score would belike on a scale of one to ten?
Speaker 2 (01:41):
On a scale of one to ten, I say my literacy score
will be a 0.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Oh, so we're breaking the scale, okay.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Well, the reason why it's a 0 is simply because, hey,
being young, growing up, youthink you're going to live
forever, right?
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Right.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
You really weren't going to the doctor, right,
right.
And if you did, it was hey, Ibroke my arm or I need a stitch.
They fix it Right, butunderstand it long term.
So I'm going to say zero.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Zero.
Okay, for me, I would probablyhave to second that I'm going to
say zero, and it's reallysimilar to you.
I think for me is I'll worryabout that when it's time.
Right, that's what it feelslike Like when I'm 40, 50, 60,
I'll worry about thoseconditions and things like that
when I get to there, but that'snot the case.
(02:29):
I think we should always focuson our health and who we are
right now, in this moment,because when I'm 40, 50, and 60,
it's just that much easier tomake informed decisions about
our health.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Right.
Well, maybe if I would haveknew about this earlier, I
probably would have kept some ofmy teeth.
Yeah, you probably would have,you probably would have, for
sure.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
So let's dive a little bit deeper into
understanding personal healthliteracy, pretty much giving,
trying to get the crux of itright.
So, when trying to reallyunderstand personal health
literacy, we want to make surethat we're focusing on three
things One, managing your health.
Two, interpreting healthinformation, and then three
would be how to navigate thehealthcare system.
So, I guess, with managing yourhealth, so the first thing is
you want to make sure that we'reunderstanding and making
(03:21):
informed health decisionspertaining to like our
lifestyles.
Maybe it's managing chronicconditions or even seeking
preventative care for thosechronic conditions.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
And so when I'm saying chronic, and when you're
saying chronic conditions, alsobeing proactive, right In those
chronic conditions, meaning,like understanding the
prescription, drug instructions,right, the prescription that
the doctor prescribed to you,understanding those type of
things, and that's beingproactive.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
In your health.
Yeah, so you definitely want tobe proactive because, say, for
instance, those chronicconditions, so we have, like
diabetes, heart disease, copdthose are different chronic
conditions that we see a lot ofour families or a lot of people
that we deal with on aday-to-day basis, that they're
dealing with.
Okay, so being-.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
And with that we lack understanding, we lack
understanding of those diseases.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
So if you have, if you understand health literacy
or have health literacy, youunderstand.
Okay, what am I going to dowhen, with these symptoms?
Oh, I can I understand what'sgoing on with me.
How do I, how can I treat this?
Or if my doctor is giving meinsulin, okay, this insulin is
to do what?
Speaker 2 (04:25):
or this is supposed to you know me this.
So that's kind of what, wherewe and a part of being proactive
is, that is, understanding, uh,the directions and the consent
forms effectively from thedoctor, right?
So when you speak to thatdoctor, that doctor give you a
diagnosis.
Hey, you want to understandwhat that is.
Don't be afraid to askquestions about that, right,
right?
Speaker 1 (04:39):
right, right.
And so, moving into, like thesecond point of really what the
crux of health literacy is, isone being able to understand,
read, comprehend, evaluate allhealth content that is being
brought to you.
So, like you were just saying,those consent forms, right,
being able to understandbrochures or any of the health
information they're giving you.
(05:00):
You're able to understand andread those and evaluate what's
needed health information thatthey're giving you.
You're able to understand andread those and evaluate what's
needed.
And then, lastly, navigatingthe healthcare system, which is
really funny.
We're in the healthcare fieldand we still have a very hard
time navigating the healthcaresystem, because it is a vast
system and it's so manyintricacies and there's
different people with differenthands and things, and so it's
(05:21):
just really being able to findand access the information
that's needed for your health,and so that's super important to
able to find and access theinformation that's needed for
your health, and so that's superimportant to make sure that
we're doing so.
Now I want to pose to you aquestion.
So what are some of the biggestbarriers, you see, preventing
people from improving theirpersonal health literacy?
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Limited education and knowledge.
Okay, All right, and that canbe something of like some people
struggle.
They struggle withunderstanding the basic concepts
of like nutrition, exercisesand disease prevention.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Yeah, that's you know what?
I never thought about that likethat, you know, because even we
, from kind of what you weresaying earlier, right, we're
young, we'll be able to you kindof think the doctor is going to
just point you in the rightdirection and it's just going to
be great, you know, we're justgoing to, they're going to say
it is what it is and that's whatI should do, but really
understanding and having thatknowledge behind it is super
(06:14):
important.
So I love that.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Because if you don't understand it and the doctor
points you in the rightdirection, yeah, take two of
these a day and you'll feelbetter.
But what is the long-termeffect of that, right?
What do you do after that,right?
How can you do more than otherthan taking two of these a day?
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Right.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Two pills a day to make me feel better.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Right, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
How can you, I guess, look out for yourself long-term
?
Speaker 1 (06:36):
I love it.
Okay, perfect, so one of theones I would say that is pretty
big would be probably complexityof health information, Because
a lot of times or not a lot oftimes, it's just fact Medical
words are confusing.
Very confusing, they're hugeand they take forever to spell.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
And I went to school and I stayed on, exactly,
exactly.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
So it's super confusing.
And so if the doctor doesn'tbreak down what they're saying
in a way that makes sense to thepatient, it's not going to make
it any easier.
We're actually going to causeconfusion later going into a
quality of care breakdown, aquality care failure, and so
it's super important that weunderstand what the doctor is
saying and what they'reinforming us to do, so that way
(07:20):
we can make those informeddecisions.
What are some other barriersyou can?
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Many may not know how to access health care services.
Right True Like insurance.
Right True, medicare Medicaid.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Right.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Personal insurance right, right.
Many people don't know thatmarket right, so they probably
won't know where to go.
So I guess for a long-termeffect of being healthy and
having literacy about you needto know what insurances out
there that can help you coversome of the costs.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Okay, and to piggyback off that, knowing what
insurances are out there too,but what about the people who
have financial constraints?
They can't even accessinsurance right and so, and then
the people.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
So let the give them, if you can.
I know this kind of script.
Can you give them a littleexample of what that would look
like?
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Okay, so maybe you're in a more rural area, right?
So maybe you're in anundeserved geographical area.
It's hard to make anythinghappen or any health decisions
when the health care is probablynot even in your area, you know
.
So it's super, super importantthat everybody has access to
health care, and that kind ofstems more from the
(08:31):
organizational health literacyside, and so we're going to talk
more about that.
You know, come the next episode.
But it's super important foreven the people in the rural
areas or the underservedgeographical areas to be able to
access that information,because most times they don't
have insurance.
And if you don't have insurance, how can you get the medication
that you need or how can youget the treatments that you need
(08:53):
, those different things.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Well, let's go to a bigger problem.
When you talk about the ruralarea, we go back, like we talked
in the first part, about thelack of education, lack of
knowledge, right, and this isreally put on people of color,
just to be honest with you, fromgeneration to generation, right
(09:15):
?
Hey, what do I know abouthealth literacy, right?
What do I know about insurance?
I learned it from my parents,right?
But if they don't know orunderstand, that's the only
understanding I have.
Well, what little they may know.
Right.
So this is this.
We can go many different waysin this, but yeah.
Wow, this is very important.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
OK, so that another barrier similar to what you've
just brought up Culturalbarriers.
Yes, that's a cultural barrier.
You know when, when you comefrom from different backgrounds,
not every background is thesame, no, not everyone has the
same access to health care, andall the way around.
So that's super important.
(09:54):
So another important topic thatyou brought up, and then just a
common one language barriers.
If you don't speak the locallanguage fluently, you're not
going to understand nothing yourdoctor is saying, and so it's
important to educate yourselfabout.
So say, for instance, if Ispoke French, which I do not, I
do not speak French, I wish Idid.
(10:14):
It's a beautiful language.
But say, for instance, I spokeFrench, my goal and I'll talk
about this more about Google,you know, but I'm Googling a
French doctor, french speakingdoctor near me because those
different things impact yourlevel of care, impact the
quality of your care.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
So let's let you say speaking French Listen, you
speak English.
I think to be proactive, let'sgo back to the first one.
Hey, you know Googling is fine.
Hey, just if you're in there,doctor's visit, and the doctor's
talking about something thatyou don't understand, stop Ask
questions about that.
Right, right, stop and askquestions about that.
(10:50):
Get more information.
Do not leave until you'recomfortable with the
understanding that the doctor isgiving you Right, and so I
guess that leads me into my nextquestion.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
My next question would be how do you believe
people can improve theirpersonal health literacy?
And I think you just hit one onthe head right there all the
way.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Right, so yes, so, first of all, going to the
doctor's office, being preparedright.
Be prepared for your doctor'sappointments like knowing your
diagnosis, having notes fromprevious doctor's appointments
and doing a little research onyour own right, so when you come
into the doctor's appointment,you can ask questions and get
the answers that you need tohelp you.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
I would say one of the otherthings you can do, since we
talked about Google right, usecredible sources for your health
information, right?
So Google is truly not yourfriend.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Google is not the doctor.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
It's not Go to your doctor first.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Google is not the doctor.
It's not Go to your doctorfirst.
Google is not the doctor, butGoogle can help when you need
some information about somethingand if you have questions that
you have found Now, listen, Iknow, mama, I love you, but my
mother will Google everythingand she will go with that and
she will say, hey, google saidit.
That's what it is.
It's fine, but please talk toyour doctor.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Yes, talk to your doctor first and then, once you
talk to your doctor, right?
This is where Google comes intoplay, because now we're going
to be using web platforms thatcan help with this.
So we're talking about the CDC,the World Health Organization,
medlineplus those type ofwebsites that are geared to
provide accurate information.
It's up to date, it's researchbased.
(12:36):
You're getting information thatis more relevant and prevalent
to this where we are right now,and so we're not just Googling a
random thing and gettingsomebody's opinion on Wikipedia.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
You can Google and get some information from 1969.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
And it's not going to help you in 2024.
I mean, maybe it will, but talkto your doctor.
And then, besides, like the web,we have apps.
So a lot of doctor's officesare doing things like MyChart.
Right, that's how you stay ontop, like when you're talking
about being proactiveself-advocacy.
That's how you be on top ofyour medical and health
information you get on yourMyChart.
(13:12):
You're looking at those notesyou were talking about those
progress notes, going back andpreparing yourself for your
important appointments.
But also, like WebMD, they givegeneral information.
There's an app for that.
It gives general informationabout any of the health topics
that you want, conveniently atyour fingertips, and again, it's
credible and reliableinformation.
And then, lastly, I would sayprobably books could go along
(13:34):
with.
You know that credible sourcefor health information.
Books are a wealth of knowledge, and so I'm a reader.
I know, pops, you're not toomuch a reader.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
I'm getting there, I'm getting there.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
But I'm a reader, I love books, and so one of the
big things for me and I love agreat book recommendation.
And so if there's somethingthat I'm going through, for me
and I love a great bookrecommendation, and so if
there's something that I'm goingthrough and say, for instance,
I'm going through diabetes, if Igo and ask my doctor, hey,
because I know I love books andI love reading, hey, is there a
book that you would recommend onthis disease to help me further
understand what I'm goingthrough or help me further?
Speaker 2 (14:04):
you know that's super important because he can point
you in a direction that you needto go.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
Exactly, and so that's what's important.
You have another tip.
You think that could.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
No, I think you did good on that.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Oh, okay.
Well then I'll add this I thinkit is super important to
develop health related skills.
So that's like learning basicmedical terminology.
So you don't have to beEinstein, you know, I don't need
to know all of that, those bigwords, but the basic things,
like terms like hypertension,things that you hear on a
(14:38):
day-to-day basis, highcholesterol, the difference
between type one, type two,diabetes being able to
understand what that is andknowing just what those terms
are could really really bebeneficial, and I agree, and
that don't have to be directedto just one person, because you
probably have a family memberthat's dealing with these type
of issues.
Exactly, exactly.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
So usually these issues will be hereditary right
down the line.
So knowing those terms isdefinitely will be helpful.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Yeah, and then so and again, personal health literacy
is about you, but it's alsoabout others, like you just said
.
So I think for others, take aclass.
There are classes that are outthere.
So maybe it's a first-day classthat you're taking, maybe it's
a CPR class that you're taking.
It could be in person, online.
I know there is like a plethoraof organizations like the
(15:26):
American Red Cross that aredoing things like those
first-day classes and things.
But it just really it justhelps you improve, prove, kind
of, your health decisions andyour decision making, and so
just knowing is half the battle.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
I mean wow that was good.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
That was good.
Ok, knowing is half the battle.
Ok, I love that.
So, yeah, knowing is half thebattle and it's what you do with
that knowledge.
That kind of takes you to thenext level.
And so, again, I hope, fromwhat we've talked about here,
that you kind of understand yourhealth matters yes, the health
of your family members matterand really understanding and
taking the time one to do theresearch for yourself.
(16:07):
Don't be afraid to get a secondopinion.
You're not hearing what you'resupposed to hear.
There should be opencommunication from your doctors.
If it's not an environmentwhere you feel you can
communicate openly with yourdoctor about certain things,
please do that.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Please find one that is willing to be open and talk
with you.
Yes, picking a doctor orprovider is a key.
It's crucial Someone thatyou're comfortable with, someone
that you feel is taking thetime to give you the best
information possible, someonethat you feel, when you leave
out that doctor's office, youhave everything you need to get
(16:45):
through your day and get throughthe next steps or whatever's
going on in your life.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
So I think that'll be a good thing, and that's
actually one of the episodes wehave for Health Literacy.
So you guys, we're jam-packed.
How do you find your PCP?
How do you know it's the rightfit?
Listen, we are jam-packed, wegot y'all locked and loaded.
So that's pretty much a wrap onpersonal health literacy.
Before we end this, there'snothing else you'd like to add,
(17:09):
because I mean, you're the kingof creative life.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Episode one Did we drop the mic?
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Come on, did we drop the mic?
Okay, I'll drop the mic.
I'll drop the mic.
Okay, and that's a wrap ontoday's episode of the Journey
Out.
We pray that the thingsdiscussed today have been a
helping hand for you and theones you hold close positively
bringing you out of one seasonto the next, starting your
Exodus journey, and let me saythis Hopefully this information
(17:36):
also helped you become aresource.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Remember, you are the resource now to your family.
You are the resource now toyour community, so hopefully
this helps.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Awesome.
Thank you, guys.
See you on the next episode.
Bye-bye.
Hello everyone, and welcome to the Journey Out
podcast, where we are designedto be the helping hand for
everyday people who are on theirExodus journey.
So I am your host, Brie, and wehave Antoine, the amazing
Antoine, the amazing father.
This month is Health LiteracyMonth, October is Health
Literacy Month, and so we wantto dive into a series concerning
(00:23):
health literacy, what it is andwhy it matters.
So let's jump on in.
What is home care?
How do I navigate health care?
Speaker 2 (00:30):
What do I do when I feel down and depressed?
Speaker 1 (00:33):
I'm stressed Am I enough?
What can I do?
What is this going to cost?
So let me define a little bitabout what health literacy is.
So I'm going to use my handydandy notepad I have in front of
me.
So personal health literacy ishow well a person can find,
understand and use informationand services to make decisions
about their own health and thehealth of others.
(00:53):
Now there is another definitionfor organizational health
literacy, and it is how wellorganizations equitably help all
people find, understand and useinformation and services to
make decisions about their ownhealth and others.
So today we're not going toworry about organizational
health literacy, we're justgoing to focus on the personal
health literacy part of this.
And so the importance ofpersonal health literacy is
(01:16):
really the person's ability tomanage their health, prevent
illnesses and then also engagewith health care providers.
And so, from that definitionand from kind of where we stand,
I know right now we're healthcare professionals, you know,
and we don't know everything,but we've been in the field a
very long time.
And so, before we got to thispoint, what would you say your
(01:37):
health literacy score would belike on a scale of one to ten?
Speaker 2 (01:41):
On a scale of one to ten, I say my literacy score
will be a 0.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Oh, so we're breaking the scale, okay.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Well, the reason why it's a 0 is simply because, hey,
being young, growing up, youthink you're going to live
forever, right?
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Right.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
You really weren't going to the doctor, right,
right.
And if you did, it was hey, Ibroke my arm or I need a stitch.
They fix it Right, butunderstand it long term.
So I'm going to say zero.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Zero.
Okay, for me, I would probablyhave to second that I'm going to
say zero, and it's reallysimilar to you.
I think for me is I'll worryabout that when it's time.
Right, that's what it feelslike Like when I'm 40, 50, 60,
I'll worry about thoseconditions and things like that
when I get to there, but that'snot the case.
(02:29):
I think we should always focuson our health and who we are
right now, in this moment,because when I'm 40, 50, and 60,
it's just that much easier tomake informed decisions about
our health.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Right.
Well, maybe if I would haveknew about this earlier, I
probably would have kept some ofmy teeth.
Yeah, you probably would have,you probably would have, for
sure.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
So let's dive a little bit deeper into
understanding personal healthliteracy, pretty much giving,
trying to get the crux of itright.
So, when trying to reallyunderstand personal health
literacy, we want to make surethat we're focusing on three
things One, managing your health.
Two, interpreting healthinformation, and then three
would be how to navigate thehealthcare system.
So, I guess, with managing yourhealth, so the first thing is
you want to make sure that we'reunderstanding and making
(03:21):
informed health decisionspertaining to like our
lifestyles.
Maybe it's managing chronicconditions or even seeking
preventative care for thosechronic conditions.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
And so when I'm saying chronic, and when you're
saying chronic conditions, alsobeing proactive, right In those
chronic conditions, meaning,like understanding the
prescription, drug instructions,right, the prescription that
the doctor prescribed to you,understanding those type of
things, and that's beingproactive.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
In your health.
Yeah, so you definitely want tobe proactive because, say, for
instance, those chronicconditions, so we have, like
diabetes, heart disease, copdthose are different chronic
conditions that we see a lot ofour families or a lot of people
that we deal with on aday-to-day basis, that they're
dealing with.
Okay, so being-.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
And with that we lack understanding, we lack
understanding of those diseases.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
So if you have, if you understand health literacy
or have health literacy, youunderstand.
Okay, what am I going to dowhen, with these symptoms?
Oh, I can I understand what'sgoing on with me.
How do I, how can I treat this?
Or if my doctor is giving meinsulin, okay, this insulin is
to do what?
Speaker 2 (04:25):
or this is supposed to you know me this.
So that's kind of what, wherewe and a part of being proactive
is, that is, understanding, uh,the directions and the consent
forms effectively from thedoctor, right?
So when you speak to thatdoctor, that doctor give you a
diagnosis.
Hey, you want to understandwhat that is.
Don't be afraid to askquestions about that, right,
right?
Speaker 1 (04:39):
right, right.
And so, moving into, like thesecond point of really what the
crux of health literacy is, isone being able to understand,
read, comprehend, evaluate allhealth content that is being
brought to you.
So, like you were just saying,those consent forms, right,
being able to understandbrochures or any of the health
information they're giving you.
(05:00):
You're able to understand andread those and evaluate what's
needed health information thatthey're giving you.
You're able to understand andread those and evaluate what's
needed.
And then, lastly, navigatingthe healthcare system, which is
really funny.
We're in the healthcare fieldand we still have a very hard
time navigating the healthcaresystem, because it is a vast
system and it's so manyintricacies and there's
different people with differenthands and things, and so it's
(05:21):
just really being able to findand access the information
that's needed for your health,and so that's super important to
able to find and access theinformation that's needed for
your health, and so that's superimportant to make sure that
we're doing so.
Now I want to pose to you aquestion.
So what are some of the biggestbarriers, you see, preventing
people from improving theirpersonal health literacy?
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Limited education and knowledge.
Okay, All right, and that canbe something of like some people
struggle.
They struggle withunderstanding the basic concepts
of like nutrition, exercisesand disease prevention.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Yeah, that's you know what?
I never thought about that likethat, you know, because even we
, from kind of what you weresaying earlier, right, we're
young, we'll be able to you kindof think the doctor is going to
just point you in the rightdirection and it's just going to
be great, you know, we're justgoing to, they're going to say
it is what it is and that's whatI should do, but really
understanding and having thatknowledge behind it is super
(06:14):
important.
So I love that.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Because if you don't understand it and the doctor
points you in the rightdirection, yeah, take two of
these a day and you'll feelbetter.
But what is the long-termeffect of that, right?
What do you do after that,right?
How can you do more than otherthan taking two of these a day?
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Right.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Two pills a day to make me feel better.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Right, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
How can you, I guess, look out for yourself long-term
?
Speaker 1 (06:36):
I love it.
Okay, perfect, so one of theones I would say that is pretty
big would be probably complexityof health information, Because
a lot of times or not a lot oftimes, it's just fact Medical
words are confusing.
Very confusing, they're hugeand they take forever to spell.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
And I went to school and I stayed on, exactly,
exactly.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
So it's super confusing.
And so if the doctor doesn'tbreak down what they're saying
in a way that makes sense to thepatient, it's not going to make
it any easier.
We're actually going to causeconfusion later going into a
quality of care breakdown, aquality care failure, and so
it's super important that weunderstand what the doctor is
saying and what they'reinforming us to do, so that way
(07:20):
we can make those informeddecisions.
What are some other barriersyou can?
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Many may not know how to access health care services.
Right True Like insurance.
Right True, medicare Medicaid.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Right.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Personal insurance right, right.
Many people don't know thatmarket right, so they probably
won't know where to go.
So I guess for a long-termeffect of being healthy and
having literacy about you needto know what insurances out
there that can help you coversome of the costs.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Okay, and to piggyback off that, knowing what
insurances are out there too,but what about the people who
have financial constraints?
They can't even accessinsurance right and so, and then
the people.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
So let the give them, if you can.
I know this kind of script.
Can you give them a littleexample of what that would look
like?
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Okay, so maybe you're in a more rural area, right?
So maybe you're in anundeserved geographical area.
It's hard to make anythinghappen or any health decisions
when the health care is probablynot even in your area, you know
.
So it's super, super importantthat everybody has access to
health care, and that kind ofstems more from the
(08:31):
organizational health literacyside, and so we're going to talk
more about that.
You know, come the next episode.
But it's super important foreven the people in the rural
areas or the underservedgeographical areas to be able to
access that information,because most times they don't
have insurance.
And if you don't have insurance, how can you get the medication
that you need or how can youget the treatments that you need
(08:53):
, those different things.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Well, let's go to a bigger problem.
When you talk about the ruralarea, we go back, like we talked
in the first part, about thelack of education, lack of
knowledge, right, and this isreally put on people of color,
just to be honest with you, fromgeneration to generation, right
(09:15):
?
Hey, what do I know abouthealth literacy, right?
What do I know about insurance?
I learned it from my parents,right?
But if they don't know orunderstand, that's the only
understanding I have.
Well, what little they may know.
Right.
So this is this.
We can go many different waysin this, but yeah.
Wow, this is very important.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
OK, so that another barrier similar to what you've
just brought up Culturalbarriers.
Yes, that's a cultural barrier.
You know when, when you comefrom from different backgrounds,
not every background is thesame, no, not everyone has the
same access to health care, andall the way around.
So that's super important.
(09:54):
So another important topic thatyou brought up, and then just a
common one language barriers.
If you don't speak the locallanguage fluently, you're not
going to understand nothing yourdoctor is saying, and so it's
important to educate yourselfabout.
So say, for instance, if Ispoke French, which I do not, I
do not speak French, I wish Idid.
(10:14):
It's a beautiful language.
But say, for instance, I spokeFrench, my goal and I'll talk
about this more about Google,you know, but I'm Googling a
French doctor, french speakingdoctor near me because those
different things impact yourlevel of care, impact the
quality of your care.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
So let's let you say speaking French Listen, you
speak English.
I think to be proactive, let'sgo back to the first one.
Hey, you know Googling is fine.
Hey, just if you're in there,doctor's visit, and the doctor's
talking about something thatyou don't understand, stop Ask
questions about that.
Right, right, stop and askquestions about that.
(10:50):
Get more information.
Do not leave until you'recomfortable with the
understanding that the doctor isgiving you Right, and so I
guess that leads me into my nextquestion.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
My next question would be how do you believe
people can improve theirpersonal health literacy?
And I think you just hit one onthe head right there all the
way.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Right, so yes, so, first of all, going to the
doctor's office, being preparedright.
Be prepared for your doctor'sappointments like knowing your
diagnosis, having notes fromprevious doctor's appointments
and doing a little research onyour own right, so when you come
into the doctor's appointment,you can ask questions and get
the answers that you need tohelp you.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
I would say one of the otherthings you can do, since we
talked about Google right, usecredible sources for your health
information, right?
So Google is truly not yourfriend.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Google is not the doctor.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
It's not Go to your doctor first.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Google is not the doctor.
It's not Go to your doctorfirst.
Google is not the doctor, butGoogle can help when you need
some information about somethingand if you have questions that
you have found Now, listen, Iknow, mama, I love you, but my
mother will Google everythingand she will go with that and
she will say, hey, google saidit.
That's what it is.
It's fine, but please talk toyour doctor.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Yes, talk to your doctor first and then, once you
talk to your doctor, right?
This is where Google comes intoplay, because now we're going
to be using web platforms thatcan help with this.
So we're talking about the CDC,the World Health Organization,
medlineplus those type ofwebsites that are geared to
provide accurate information.
It's up to date, it's researchbased.
(12:36):
You're getting information thatis more relevant and prevalent
to this where we are right now,and so we're not just Googling a
random thing and gettingsomebody's opinion on Wikipedia.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
You can Google and get some information from 1969.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
And it's not going to help you in 2024.
I mean, maybe it will, but talkto your doctor.
And then, besides, like the web,we have apps.
So a lot of doctor's officesare doing things like MyChart.
Right, that's how you stay ontop, like when you're talking
about being proactiveself-advocacy.
That's how you be on top ofyour medical and health
information you get on yourMyChart.
(13:12):
You're looking at those notesyou were talking about those
progress notes, going back andpreparing yourself for your
important appointments.
But also, like WebMD, they givegeneral information.
There's an app for that.
It gives general informationabout any of the health topics
that you want, conveniently atyour fingertips, and again, it's
credible and reliableinformation.
And then, lastly, I would sayprobably books could go along
(13:34):
with.
You know that credible sourcefor health information.
Books are a wealth of knowledge, and so I'm a reader.
I know, pops, you're not toomuch a reader.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
I'm getting there, I'm getting there.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
But I'm a reader, I love books, and so one of the
big things for me and I love agreat book recommendation.
And so if there's somethingthat I'm going through, for me
and I love a great bookrecommendation, and so if
there's something that I'm goingthrough and say, for instance,
I'm going through diabetes, if Igo and ask my doctor, hey,
because I know I love books andI love reading, hey, is there a
book that you would recommend onthis disease to help me further
understand what I'm goingthrough or help me further?
Speaker 2 (14:04):
you know that's super important because he can point
you in a direction that you needto go.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
Exactly, and so that's what's important.
You have another tip.
You think that could.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
No, I think you did good on that.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Oh, okay.
Well then I'll add this I thinkit is super important to
develop health related skills.
So that's like learning basicmedical terminology.
So you don't have to beEinstein, you know, I don't need
to know all of that, those bigwords, but the basic things,
like terms like hypertension,things that you hear on a
(14:38):
day-to-day basis, highcholesterol, the difference
between type one, type two,diabetes being able to
understand what that is andknowing just what those terms
are could really really bebeneficial, and I agree, and
that don't have to be directedto just one person, because you
probably have a family memberthat's dealing with these type
of issues.
Exactly, exactly.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
So usually these issues will be hereditary right
down the line.
So knowing those terms isdefinitely will be helpful.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Yeah, and then so and again, personal health literacy
is about you, but it's alsoabout others, like you just said
.
So I think for others, take aclass.
There are classes that are outthere.
So maybe it's a first-day classthat you're taking, maybe it's
a CPR class that you're taking.
It could be in person, online.
I know there is like a plethoraof organizations like the
(15:26):
American Red Cross that aredoing things like those
first-day classes and things.
But it just really it justhelps you improve, prove, kind
of, your health decisions andyour decision making, and so
just knowing is half the battle.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
I mean wow that was good.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
That was good.
Ok, knowing is half the battle.
Ok, I love that.
So, yeah, knowing is half thebattle and it's what you do with
that knowledge.
That kind of takes you to thenext level.
And so, again, I hope, fromwhat we've talked about here,
that you kind of understand yourhealth matters yes, the health
of your family members matterand really understanding and
taking the time one to do theresearch for yourself.
(16:07):
Don't be afraid to get a secondopinion.
You're not hearing what you'resupposed to hear.
There should be opencommunication from your doctors.
If it's not an environmentwhere you feel you can
communicate openly with yourdoctor about certain things,
please do that.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Please find one that is willing to be open and talk
with you.
Yes, picking a doctor orprovider is a key.
It's crucial Someone thatyou're comfortable with, someone
that you feel is taking thetime to give you the best
information possible, someonethat you feel, when you leave
out that doctor's office, youhave everything you need to get
(16:45):
through your day and get throughthe next steps or whatever's
going on in your life.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
So I think that'll be a good thing, and that's
actually one of the episodes wehave for Health Literacy.
So you guys, we're jam-packed.
How do you find your PCP?
How do you know it's the rightfit?
Listen, we are jam-packed, wegot y'all locked and loaded.
So that's pretty much a wrap onpersonal health literacy.
Before we end this, there'snothing else you'd like to add,
(17:09):
because I mean, you're the kingof creative life.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Episode one Did we drop the mic?
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Come on, did we drop the mic?
Okay, I'll drop the mic.
I'll drop the mic.
Okay, and that's a wrap ontoday's episode of the Journey
Out.
We pray that the thingsdiscussed today have been a
helping hand for you and theones you hold close positively
bringing you out of one seasonto the next, starting your
Exodus journey, and let me saythis Hopefully this information
(17:36):
also helped you become aresource.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Remember, you are the resource now to your family.
You are the resource now toyour community, so hopefully
this helps.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Awesome.
Thank you, guys.
See you on the next episode.
Bye-bye.
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