A lot of men, particularly older men in isolated rural areas, “would not be well educated in looking after their health”, says community activist Jackie Kilcullen (81).
From Ballina, Co Mayo, Ms Kilcullen was in Finglas, Dublin, on Tuesday at the publication of the landmark study on low levels in many areas of what is known as “health literacy”.
The ability to get, understand and use healthcare information is “low” among about 40 per cent of people across Ireland, notes the study, and lower in more isolated and poorer areas.
Commissioned by the HSE’s Sláintecare healthy communities programme, the study was conducted over the past 12 months by Dublin City University and supported by Dublin City Council and Mayo County Council, in whose areas consultations on health literacy were conducted with more than 100 people.
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The healthy communities programme targets 19 community areas, including Ballymun/Finglas, north Cork, and west Mayo, with enhanced health services and initiatives.
Low health literacy can mean people find medical leaflets and prescription instructions difficult to understand and forms difficult to fill in; lack awareness about where to find information; have low levels of support implementing healthy lifestyle information; and can put off seeking help accessing healthcare, according to the report.
DCU researchers found many turned to the internet and artificial intelligence for health advice. A Co Mayo participant said: “You can say, ‘Make me a healthy menu for the week for six people. One of my boys doesn’t eat this, one doesn’t eat this. This is how much money I have’ and it’ll create a menu for the week.”
A Finglas participant, however, warned she was wary of relying on online sources. “TikTok can have misleading information ... It’s hard to decipher which is real, and which is not,” she said.
Ms Kilcullen said increasing capacity within communities to support healthy lifestyles and accessing health services was crucial.
“In rural areas, especially very rural areas, a lot of people don’t have local community supports.
[ Combatting low health literacy that’s affecting a quarter of Irish peopleOpens in new window ]
“A huge problem, especially for older men, is isolation and not knowing how to cook healthily. And not just older people, you see people going into supermarkets and buying a ready-cooked lunch, paying three times the price for it [compared with cooking from scratch] rather than going to a butchers and buying a bit of meat, knowing how to cook a stew.”
Among her recommendations is greater investment in the capacity of community groups, such as men’s sheds and youth groups, to promote knowledge about healthy living and accessing timely healthcare.
The report, Healthy Communities Health Literacy Report, makes recommendations under 10 headings, including the establishment of community kitchens and gardens that would engage schools and local groups, and the provision of mobile primary care units to target women, older people and children, including with health check evenings.
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