Reflection on Health Promotion and Health Literacy

Today in class, we talked about health promotion in the field of OT.  Through this lecture, I got a better understanding of our role in a interdisciplinary group. Dr. Flick gave an example about a client she had in acute care in which the dietitian modified her meal plan to a no sodium diet. The dietitians goal was to improve the clients health through food consumed but failed to take into account the ability for the client to continue the diet plan post discharge. That is where the OT steps in.  The client had low muscle function in her upper extremity, and typically ate canned vegetables and microwave dinners because they were easy for her to prepare for herself independently. Both of those are high in sodium though, making this new diet difficult to achieve in her home setting. The dietitian and OT worked together to then make a plan that would still promote independence in the client and work with the new diet. I also learned about the importance of health literacy. Making sure a client has a clear understanding of what is going on and what is expected of them is essential to having success in the future.  If the client does not understand the purpose behind a task, they're less likely to do it consistently or with purpose. Mutual understanding and building a therapist-client report can help with communication and make the client feel more comfortable when asking questions, and therefore, have a better understanding of their health goal and how to achieve it.