ABSTRACT
The ability to make informed health decisions is a complex process. Knowing when to consult a healthcare professional, understanding one's medical condition and learning how to take medicines correctly require that health information can be accessed, processed and applied effectively by the individual. These statements underpin the concept of "health literacy" which may be defined as the degree to which people have the ability to find, understand, act and communicate health information to make informed health decisions. To communicate at a level that helps patients to make use of health information, there is a need for the healthcare professional to first be able to identify and understand the patient's health literacy by considering age, gender, cultural background, education level, thoughts and behaviours associated with the topic under discussion, and perceived benefits and barriers towards the topic. Five strategies can then be applied for improving that patient's understanding and self management of his or her medical condition: (1) Assess patients' health literacy using open-ended questions; (2) Speak in plain language; (3) Limit the number of teaching points; (4) Use visual aids, and (5) Incorporate the 'teach-back' method to ensure patient understanding.