At UF Health Jacksonville, we believe that the first step to minimizing health disparities in our community is to teach people how to live better, healthier lives.
Educating our residents about daily healthful living helps improve health literacy — the degree to which an individual can adequately understand basic health information and make appropriate health decisions — and helps individuals avoid behaviors that will exacerbate illness or an unhealthy lifestyle. It is estimated that nine out of 10 adults struggle to understand and use health information when it is unfamiliar, complex or jargon-filled. A patient’s difficulty with understanding health care information can be evident in many different ways, from medication errors to missed appointments to excessive and avoidable hospital and emergency room visits.
Establishing a robust program aimed at improving the health literacy of our patients is a priority for UF Health Jacksonville. We currently have a community health worker who presents various educational topics to our community partners.
Topics we plan to cover as part of the curriculum:
- Preventative Health care and screenings
- Understanding diagnoses and treatments
- Nutrition and Healthy Eating Habits
- Cardiovascular Health
- Importance of Gut Health
- Diabetes and Monitoring Blood Sugar
- High Blood Pressure and Monitoring Blood Pressure
- How to find resources for your health needs
- Importance of dental and vision
- Health and Risky Behaviors
- Mental Health
- Reproductive Health
- COVID-19 Vaccine Education