October is Health Literacy Month
Do you know how to find your health information? Or when you visit your doctor, does it seem like all the things you talk about go down a black hole, never to be found again? If you had a medical emergency, would you be able to articulate important health details about yourself or your family?
Health Literacy Month is celebrated every year in October to recognize the importance of making health information easy to understand, and the healthcare system easier to navigate. Searching for your health records – information that is legally yours to have and share as you choose – can be overwhelming and intimidating for many people, particularly those who live in under-served communities. Health literacy advocates are working to change that, and want to make your information easy to access, and most importantly, easy to read and understand. When people understand their healthcare plan, they are much more likely to know what is financially covered under their insurance plans, what treatments they are taking and when they need to be taken, and are more likely to catch if a medical professional makes a mistake to a person or loved one's care plan or medication regimen.
Healthcare literacy also means sharing information in ways and words that are developmentally appropriate for the user, such as children or someone with an intellectual disability. This might mean using pictures or other forms of communication outside of just words.
Encouraging kids to be active participants in their own health and well-being can help set the foundation for lifelong involvement in their own care. Our ZENworks Yoga instructors introduce ways to talk about mental and overall physical health in age-appropriate ways during our FREE programs with our partner schools. This early introduction can help demystify health awareness for our students, and primes them to take ownership of their bodies and overall well-being. This can help our students learn to make healthier lifestyle choices overall.
Read more about our programs and curriculum at www.zenworksyoga.com.