The health literacy of the foreign user as a tool to prevent overcrowding of emergency and emergency services: exploratory investigation at the U.O. Emergency Department of Mestre
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Abstract
BACKGROUND
The problem of overcrowding in the Emergency Room is extremely current and discussed, because there is often a bad use of this service, that has to be used only in case of emergency and urgency, with clinical problems that can’t be in any way subjected to other structures of national health system.
The lack of health literacy, which means the necessary competence and abilities to use the health services, can be recognized as one of possible causes of overcrowding in ER.
It is inevitably necessary to have healthcare professionals culturally competent, that really know how to personalize its work by focusing the attention on cultural diversity.
At the same time it is really important to form citizens that are able to communicate in an efficient way with health system and that can find and assess the information.
OBJECTIVES
This study aims to contextualize the phenomenon of overcrowding in ER and it also will define if there is a lack of health literacy in foreign patients that access to ER with non - urgent codes.
METHOD
Study design: a scoping study in the Emergency Room of Ospedale dell’Angelo di Mestre, during the months of July and August 2017.
Sampling: includes foreign patients with an age range of 16 to 70 years that had access to ER with non – urgent codes.
Method and technique of data collection: administration of an anonymous survey on the basis of voluntariness of participants.
Data analysis: the answers have been statistically analyzed in order to obtain the result as a percentage.
RESULTS
The distribution of the answers is uniform and does not vary to the change of interviewed users.
The results confirm that there is a widespread lack of health literacy.
DISCUSSION
Health Literacy of users has to be carefully evaluated and, if it is inadequate, implemented through the closest relationship between Nurse and patient.
The training of health professionals has to be based on an efficient communication and it is necessary to evaluate the ability in the use of those specific tools that are useful to recognize lack of health literacy.
CONCLUSIONS
The analysis of the data agrees with all that literature confirms, or rather that is becoming increasingly necessary to have cultural competence and to have healthcare professional up to date with society.
The implementation of health literacy could reduce the accesses in ER and all the negative consequences linked to them.
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