Advocate for Your Health | Molly Hottle | TEDxTucson
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- čas přidán 9. 09. 2024
- Have you ever felt confused or overwhelmed after a visit to the doctor's office? If you have, you're not alone. Many people have poor health literacy,or the inability to understand health information, which can lead to misdiagnosis, hospitalization and even death. But for patients who stand up and advocate for their health, there is hope.
Molly is a strategic communication specialist in the health care field. She is currently a senior marketing and communication specialist at Phoenix Children’s Hospital and previously worked in strategic communication for Providence Health & Services in Portland, Oregon. It was through this work that she experienced first-hand the literacy gap between medical professionals and the patients they treat. Before moving into health care communication, she worked as a print journalist for the Associated Press, The Des Moines Register and The Oregonian. In May 2017, she will graduate from Johns Hopkins University with a master’s degree in communication, and in her free time, she volunteers with the Health Literacy Coalition of Arizona, a group of volunteers working to improve health literacy for people and organizations across the state. Molly is originally from Iowa and currently lives in Phoenix with her husband Nigel and two dogs, Lou and Churchill.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx
Thanks Molly. I am working on a presentation / webinar specifically geared to patients with lesser-known chronic conditions; how to navigate going to the Emergency room, how to prepare to meet medical professionals who are not familiar with your condition, etc. Your talk was helpful.
Well done Molly on bringing the topic of health literacy to the fore. Most people don't realize how critical health literacy is and that even the most educated individuals can have poor health literacy. It's so important to ensure the way health care providers communicate to us as patients takes this into account otherwise our healthcare systems will not be sustainable. Thanks for sharing your talk!
Health care advocacy is a critical issue that needs to be addressed, especially with the vast amount of patients that health care providers see and care for. Molly giving the example of a woman not knowing she was getting a hysterectomy is a perfect example of how things can get misinterpreted for a variety of reasons. As a medical student as well as an immigrant, I find myself helping my parents advocate for themselves when speaking with physicians as well as helping them understand their test results. I cannot imagine what it would be like to not understand what is going on and misunderstandings that may occur. The Institute of Medicine discusses four key constructs of personal health literacy: cultural and conceptual knowledge, print health literacy (writing and reading skills), oral health literacy (listening and speaking), and numeracy. As health care providers, we tend to overlook at least one if not all of these constructs and need to incorporate them into our practices. How can we provide adequate care if the patients that we treat can't fully comprehend how and why we are treating them?
Great talk Molly!
I am the bossy patient that asks a lot of questions....and I still have many terrible health care outcomes in terms of appropriate treatment and sensible charges for reasonable care. I think this speaker has a lot of really good things to say....but the health care system is SO broken in this country that I find it nearly impossible to feel cared for, even if I do 80% of the work. Doctors, receptionists, health insurance workers, etc. etc. are so immersed in a healthcare-for-profit system that asking questions has made me the "trouble-making" patient and I have seen very few practitioners actually slow down to address my questions in a meaningful way.
Trying to follow up afterwards to ask questions or to challenge bills can take weeks of phone tag trying to find a person who actually will look at you and your situation.
It's demeaning....I actually feel victimized by the healthcare system after most encounters.
So, yes, please advocate for yourself...but this system needs to change before people will actually be cared for.
I just stumbled upon this TEDx Talk and I have been able to use this to speak to our new hires about the importance of advocating on behalf of our patients. The fact that healthcare literacy is a master's degree highlights the need for our healthcare providers and support staff to proactively work towards closing this gap. Great talk, thank you!
looking for advocacy for the right to use your health insurance to cover desired health care treatment
looking for advocacy for the right to choose your own health care
Meh this was pretty useless. It’s advice in a vacuum and ultimately we’re powerless to really have any control. We can advocate all we want but if the doctors etc don’t cooperate we have little recourse. It’s largely shouting at the wind