Enhancing Health Literacy in Elderly: Personal Reflection

Following the American Psychological Association’s Guidelines

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Date

Referencing Style: APA / Word Count: 631

Enhancing Health Literacy in Elderly: Personal Reflection

Through the Capstone Project, “Enhancing Health Literacy for Elderly,” I intended to review the prevailing problem of Limited Health Literacy among the elderly in the United States. I looked into the problem closely and tried to find an evidence-based solution to the problem.  

Understanding Limited Health Literacy Among the Elderly

Health Literacy is needed by every one of us at some point of time in our lives (CDC, 2022) and so, I can very well understand how the limitations of health literacy can affect our adult counterparts. Because of the limitations of health literacy, the elderly may not be able to read the prescriptions or dosage of the drugs and are more likely to face longer hospital stays, face higher mortality rates (CDC, 2020). Not only is limited health literacy a public health concern but it is also a socio-economic burden on the people living in the United States. It is thus, a serious public health concern that needs a concrete solution.

Personal Experience With the Capstone Project

At the outset, I found the subject very interesting but it was a bit challenging also as I had to be thorough with my research and I made a Questionnaire out of it. The research was an amalgam of public health issues, the epidemics of the problem, and the healthcare project management related to the concern. To make things look better, I used charts, infographics, and tables also. Overall, it was a challenging and interesting endeavor to complete the Capstone Project and I feel I could have given it a lively experience if I had collected the data from the elderly also. 

Academic and Practical Learning From the Capstone Project

At SNHU, we have been regularly given many prompts, academic inputs, and very insightful lectures but the Capstone Project gave a hands-on experience to manage the problem of health literacy as a real-life project. On one hand, the academic program equipped us with the knowledge of managing healthcare projects and handling them swiftly, the Capstone Project on the other hand gave us a hands-on experience akin to project training for handling real-life problems. Thus, both things went on well making us adept and confident healthcare professionals who can handle problems in healthcare meticulously. 

Learning Through the Project Milestones

Through each of the Milestones, I found each prompt very helpful in delving deeper into the problem of limited health literacy, exploring innovative and novel solutions, and finally, making a project proposing the measures to effectively curb the problem. The Initiative of “Enhancing Health Literacy in Elderly” has given me hope that as future healthcare professionals, we can cope with the problems swiftly, patiently, meticulously, and effectively.

Future Academic and Professional Development

In my future academic endeavors also, I believe this project has given me a direction as to how to be explorative, experimentative, and creative, and how to effectively solve problems. In my future studies also, this project will help me to work with more rigor, with more care, and with a practical-driven approach. 

Ethical Considerations in Elderly Health Literacy

As far as I relate to the problem of limited health literacy among the elderly and looking at the situation through an ethical lens, I feel that all the components of ethical principles, beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, and justice can be ensured through a sturdy approach of ensuring health literacy to the elderly.

Practical Approaches to Improving Health Literacy

 Some of these approaches are – helping the elderly to teach back, making the literature simple, easy for people who are health-literate and also using visual, and verbal cues for teaching health-related content to the elderly. 

Conclusion

To summarize, the Capstone Project has been a great help in finding a prevailing problem in society, exploring more into the research involved, finding solutions through practical approaches, and becoming a responsible healthcare professional. To conclude, such projects are a great help to closely look into the problem through various lenses and find solutions efficiently.

I would urge academicians to organize more such programs in the future to give students a practical-driven problem-solving approach.

References

CDC (2022) Understanding Health Literacy. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

Available at https://www.cdc.gov/healthliteracy/learn/Understanding.html

CDC (2020) Infographic: Health Literacy. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.

Available at https://www.cdc.gov/orr/infographics/healthliteracy.html