The purpose of this environmental scan, carried out by the New Zealand Guidelines Group (NZGG), is to provide examples of important health literacy processes and initiatives underway in New Zealand which are associated with medication safety. This report details results of the scan and covers health literacy tools, resources, systems, repositories, processes, personnel and/or other methods currently used to improve consumers’ engagement with health and disability services associated with medication safety.
The concept of health literacy is relatively new to New Zealand. A number of research projects are either underway or recently completed, but as yet there is little published data available, especially on effective interventions for improving health literacy, that are specific to New Zealand. This environmental scan represents an opportunity to collect early, qualitative data on developing approaches, and on those apparently few areas/initiatives where health literacy in medications safety is being more directly addressed.
NZGG and the Health Quality and Safety Commission have adopted the following definition of health literacy and associated commentary: The degree to which individuals can obtain, process and understand health information and services they need to make appropriate health decisions. Health literacy represents a constellation of skills necessary for people to function effectively in the health care and disability support environment and act appropriately on health care information. These skills include the ability to interpret documents, read and write prose (print literacy), use quantitative information (numeracy) and speak and listen effectively (oral literacy).
Attention to health literacy with respect to medication safety, beyond provision of written resources and dedicated websites, is rare. Below, examples of health literacy initiatives identified in the scan are presented under two headings – ‘broadly relevant activities’, and ‘purposive interventions’