Discuss how with the help of health literacy can ensure that patients adhere to their prescribed treatment.

Discussion 

The patient believed that by being on the syringe driver would mean speeding the process of dying. (Vestala and Frisman, 2013) found that patient knowledge influenced decision making, particularly for individuals who had limited health literacy. Koay et al. (2012) support this statement mentioning that patients with limited health literacy may have difficulties understanding medical terms or information. Moreover, they have poor adherence of their treatment plans, therefore, lack self-efficacy to be fully involved in their care. (Rajah et al. 2018) confirm this statement, adding that patients may feel ashamed due to not understanding the information given or may fail to seek assistance. This relates to Katrina who misunderstood the function of the syringe driver and had negative thoughts about the treatment plan. Therefore, ensuring patients are fully informed about their treatment and equipped with knowledge is fundamental to ensure their involvement in their care in order to make informed decisions which have an impact on their health outcomes and experiences. Finally, the team was all agreed that in order to ensure Katrina’s adherence to the treatment, the patient should be educated further with the support of heath literacy. Following the support received by the team, the patient accepted to be commenced on the syringe driver.