OCTOBER - Health Literacy Month: Making Healthcare Clearer for Families
Health Literacy Month offers Suffolk families practical ways to understand care instructions, prepare for appointments, and support older adults at home.
10/2/20262 min read
October is Health Literacy Month, a reminder that understanding health information matters at every age. For older adults and families, a new prescription, hospital discharge, or doctor’s visit can bring unfamiliar words and several instructions at once. You deserve information that makes sense and a chance to ask questions before you leave.
What Is Health Literacy?
Health literacy means being able to find, understand, and use health information and services to make decisions. It goes beyond reading a brochure. It can mean knowing who to call with a question, understanding the next step in a care plan, or finding reliable information online. Healthcare organizations also have a responsibility to communicate clearly. Needing an explanation is nothing to be embarrassed about.
Health Literacy Month: Start With These Questions
Before an appointment, write down your main concerns and bring an up-to-date list of medicines, vitamins, and supplements. Consider asking:
What does this mean in everyday language?
What should I do next, and when?
What changes should prompt a call, and whom should I contact?
Can I have the instructions in writing?
If you are unsure, describe the plan in your own words and ask the clinician to confirm it. For example: “Let me make sure I understand what I should do when I get home.”
Make Information Easier to Use at Home
With your permission, a trusted family member or friend can attend an appointment, take notes, and help you remember questions. Ask for large-print instructions or an interpreter when needed. Keep current instructions and important phone numbers together in an easy-to-find folder.
For example, a Suffolk family helping a parent return home from rehabilitation might keep appointment details, the current medication list, and care-team contacts in one place. When instructions are unclear, contact the healthcare team or pharmacist rather than guessing or changing a medicine on your own.
Where Can Families Find Reliable Information?
Start with your healthcare team and established sources such as the CDC and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Online information can help you prepare questions, but your clinician should explain how it applies to your situation.
How Can GBW Homecare Solutions Help?
GBW provides non-medical support with personal care, meal preparation, light housekeeping, companionship, respite, and medication reminders. We can help with everyday routines while healthcare professionals handle medical decisions.
We serve Suffolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Norfolk, and surrounding cities. Call 757-641-4034 to discuss your family’s needs, or contact us through our website.
This article provides general education and is not medical advice.
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