Latest / Talking FACS / Being Involved with your own Health Care

Transcript

Being Involved with your own Health Care · Talking FACS

• 0:01
  Welcome to talking facts,
• 0:03
  what you need to know about family food,
• 0:05
  finance and fitness.
• 0:07
  This nationally recognized award winning podcast is hosted by the University of Kentucky Family and consumer sciences extension program.
• 0:16
  Our educators share research knowledge with individuals,
• 0:19
  families and communities to improve quality of life.
• 0:24
  Hello and welcome to talking facts.
• 0:26
  This is your host,
• 0:27
  Dr jennifer Hunter,
• 0:28
  assistant director for family consumer sciences extension at the University of Kentucky.
• 0:33
  Today,
• 0:34
  I'm pleased to be joined by Dr Natalie jones,
• 0:36
  our extension specialists for family health.
• 0:39
  Welcome Natalie,
• 0:41
  thank you for having me.
• 0:42
  So today's topic is about being involved with your own healthcare and that sounds like such a simple topic that of course it's about you and taking care of yourself that,
• 0:54
  that obviously you're involved,
• 0:55
  but I know that I am,
• 0:58
  I'm guilty of this myself of maybe not always,
• 1:03
  especially like when I go for an annual physical and maybe not always giving my health care provider full information of waiting for them to ask the question before I kinda get it all out there or also not asking as many questions as I should while I'm there because I don't want to be perceived a burden or maybe I should have already known that and I didn't.
• 1:22
  Um so today you're gonna give us some ideas and um about how to become more involved with our own health care.
• 1:30
  Exactly.
• 1:31
  So this is something that is really important for our own health as well as for organizations and doctors to be aware of that.
• 1:40
  They need to make things easier to understand for people.
• 1:44
  And so that is one of the things I want to talk about is health literacy.
• 1:48
  And the definition of health literacy was actually updated In August of 2020.
• 1:53
  So just this past year and the updated definition that I'm going to share with you is the personal health side.
• 2:00
  So that's for individuals.
• 2:02
  And so the definition is that health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the ability to find,
• 2:09
  understand and use information and services to inform health related decisions and actions for themselves and others.
• 2:17
  So this is really important.
• 2:19
  I think it's a great definition because the health care,
• 2:24
  the field is very hard to navigate for people.
• 2:26
  And so we want to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to find quality health care to understand the health care that they need and then to actually take the information that the doctors are giving them and apply it right.
• 2:39
  And it seems easy,
• 2:41
  but anyone who has had a health complication or has had a family member with an illness or a disease or trying to take care and be an advocate for someone knows how difficult navigating the healthcare system is.
• 2:53
  So that's why we want to make sure that everyone has a high level of health literacy.
• 2:58
  And you know,
• 2:59
  as I listen to you,
• 3:00
  give the definition of health literacy and I think about all the different places that individuals can,
• 3:08
  you know,
• 3:08
  source information.
• 3:10
  Obviously the internet is a common one that folks are going to go to and it's important to realize that often there could be misinformation out there as well.
• 3:19
  So,
• 3:20
  um,
• 3:20
  I I would assume that part of growing your health literacy is also recognizing the legitimate sources of information available to you.
• 3:28
  Yes.
• 3:28
  So I think we should talk about that too because as we know,
• 3:32
  there are thousands of websites out there that are offering medical advice where they may not actually be,
• 3:41
  how should I say giving you the correct information?
• 3:44
  Right.
• 3:44
  Some of those websites provide reliable health information and just some simply don't.
• 3:49
  And so the first thing that I want to say is always talk to your healthcare provider if you have questions or if you read something on the internet,
• 3:57
  talk to your healthcare provider before you change anything about your health behavior,
• 4:03
  just check with your doctor first when it comes to reliable websites for health information,
• 4:08
  we want to make sure that we stick to those sites that have the dot E D U or dot org or dot gov.
• 4:16
  So those are government sites,
• 4:19
  conditions specific sites or support organization sites and medical websites that are going to have those correct information.
• 4:28
  Some of the things that we want to,
• 4:30
  I guess just keep note is those red flags.
• 4:33
  Right.
• 4:33
  So if you can't see the publisher or the author on the web page probably shouldn't trust it.
• 4:39
  Um,
• 4:39
  if they don't want to put their name on it.
• 4:41
  Right.
• 4:41
  Right.
• 4:42
  You want to make sure that they aren't trying to just sell you a product.
• 4:47
  Um you also want to check and make sure that they aren't just claiming some secret cure or miraculous result.
• 4:54
  Right?
• 4:54
  And then again,
• 4:56
  trusted resources.
• 4:57
  Don't count on anyone website.
• 5:00
  So make sure that it's backed by different websites by different evidence based information.
• 5:04
  Check those sources.
• 5:06
  And then the number one person where we can get trusted information from is our doctor.
• 5:11
  Right?
• 5:11
  So discuss what you find with your doctor before making any changes.
• 5:15
  And then also just to plug right health brochures from the local extension office or community health centers or hospitals or your local doctors office are also going to have that trusted health information to.
• 5:28
  So Natalie sometimes I have to laugh at our pediatrician because she knows that I like to seek information.
• 5:34
  And so there's been times that she'll say,
• 5:36
  do not go home and google this not or there's even been times that she has called me the next day and has said now I'm certain you have done your internet search.
• 5:47
  So let's talk about fact versus fiction of what you've read because she knows that I'll worry if I,
• 5:54
  you know,
• 5:54
  so I've always thought that's kind of funny that of how well she she would know me to say don't go home and google this,
• 6:00
  Don't do it and kind of along those same lines,
• 6:03
  how can we as individuals be more involved in our health care are more involved in our family members,
• 6:08
  health care.
• 6:10
  These are great things to know before your appointment.
• 6:13
  So one we want to make sure that we're always having an annual visit with a physician.
• 6:17
  So annual checkups are great for preventing for screenings,
• 6:22
  for making sure that things don't get worse.
• 6:24
  And that is what is really important as well.
• 6:27
  Is that if what we have found is that people are going because they are not health literate.
• 6:33
  The cost of health care results in higher cases because they're not going until later on when something is already worse when we could have caught it earlier.
• 6:42
  So we want to prevent those hospital visits and save money by going to the doctor once a year and when we do that before our appointment,
• 6:50
  we want to make sure that we are bringing all the medicines that you currently take or you can write them down.
• 6:57
  This includes prescription medicines,
• 6:59
  nonprescription medicines such as aspirin or any anti acids,
• 7:03
  vitamins or dietary or any supplements that you're taking.
• 7:07
  And then this is the big thing before your equipment that I I do.
• 7:10
  I actually have a running list in my phone of like the notes just for my doctor of writing down any questions or any health concerns that I'm noticing that I know I'll forget.
• 7:20
  Right?
• 7:20
  So I'll write something down and say,
• 7:22
  oh this mole looks a little weird or this mole has changed.
• 7:25
  I need to make sure that they check this out.
• 7:26
  So anything like that that you're noticing or that you're seeing,
• 7:30
  make sure that you write down those questions that you have or anything specific you want your doctor to look over and then just making sure that you know,
• 7:38
  your current medical conditions,
• 7:40
  past surgeries and then also family history is helpful to know before your appointment and you know when you talk about the list,
• 7:47
  that's one thing that I've found is helpful for my health care provider as well.
• 7:52
  So I do have my annual physical coming up in a couple of weeks and I kind of have my,
• 7:56
  my little list going right now,
• 7:58
  but it allows the appointment to be more focused and more tailored and that.
• 8:03
  I think the healthcare provider recognizes that if you've written it down,
• 8:06
  it's probably something that's,
• 8:08
  you know,
• 8:09
  that's been bothering you or it's on your mind or that we need to have a conversation about or we need to explore,
• 8:15
  explore more.
• 8:17
  But I just know for me personally,
• 8:18
  it just helps me focus that sometimes,
• 8:20
  you know,
• 8:21
  sometimes people have anxiety when it comes to a doctor's appointment,
• 8:26
  right?
• 8:26
  And just going through all the steps of being weighed and having your blood pressure taken and being measured and all that kind of stuff that sometimes you forget,
• 8:34
  you know,
• 8:34
  the list of things that that you might want to discuss with your provider.
• 8:39
  Exactly that white coat syndrome is real.
• 8:41
  I feel like you see it,
• 8:43
  you're in the dark office and you just freeze,
• 8:44
  you're like everything's fine,
• 8:45
  it's great.
• 8:46
  And then you're like you get back to your car and you're like dang,
• 8:48
  I forgot to mention this,
• 8:49
  this,
• 8:49
  this and this and this.
• 8:50
  So writing down any of those concerns and those questions is great.
• 8:54
  And then also during your appointment,
• 8:56
  don't be afraid to ask questions.
• 8:58
  It can be hard and it can be because we are used to their the doctor,
• 9:02
  they know the answers but we really need to be apart and be involved with our healthcare.
• 9:06
  So during our appointment we really want to make sure that we communicate with our doctor with our nerves with the pharmacist.
• 9:12
  There are three questions that you should always ask during your appointment regarding any treatment or anything that they are bringing up that could be a health concern.
• 9:21
  So the first question is what is my main problem or what is the problem?
• 9:26
  The second is what do I need to do?
• 9:29
  And the third is why is it important for me to do this?
• 9:32
  So it's important to know why because a lot of times they might tell us to do something and we don't do it or we don't really realize the importance of doing it when it obviously is very important and they wouldn't tell us to do it without without a reason.
• 9:46
  So those three things are the best things to communicate with your doctor and you mentioned this earlier briefly.
• 9:53
  But being honest with your physician is very important.
• 9:57
  So yes,
• 9:59
  there's actually a funny quote that I won't say who told me this,
• 10:02
  but they said if you're going to be honest with any two people,
• 10:05
  it needs to be your doctor and your lawyer.
• 10:07
  And I think that that is true.
• 10:09
  So the people who aren't going to tell tell a soul about anything that you say in the room unless you're going to obviously hurt yourself or hurt others is your doctor and your lawyer.
• 10:20
  So we want to make sure that anything that's going on that we are open that we are honest non judgment zone.
• 10:26
  I promise they've seen worse or they've heard worse.
• 10:28
  So be honest with your doctor and that can really help your treatment.
• 10:33
  So what suggestions would you have if I do ask the questions that that that you stated and I still don't really understand the response or the answers.
• 10:41
  What should I do next?
• 10:43
  Yeah.
• 10:43
  So you should definitely make sure that your doctor or your nurse or your pharmacist especially pharmacists,
• 10:49
  right?
• 10:49
  When we're taking medication,
• 10:50
  we want to make sure that we understand how to take it properly.
• 10:53
  Is that if you don't understand,
• 10:55
  ask again.
• 10:55
  And so some of the phrases that we could say is this is new to me.
• 11:00
  Can you help me understand and just explain it to me one more time or could you try to rephrase this?
• 11:06
  I'm still having a hard time understanding what I need to do.
• 11:09
  So again just but they need to phrase it in a different way or if it's a lot and you need to go back that's important.
• 11:16
  And then I'll also say we talked about that list to write down questions before a visit,
• 11:21
  bringing it into your visit and then also making sure that you have space whether it be on your phone or a tablet or hard paper notebook of to write down what the doctor is saying.
• 11:32
  And that can be really helpful for if you're being an advocate for someone like a child or a dependent or anything like that.
• 11:39
  That can be helpful to just to have extra years and to write down things so that we know when we leave the doctor's office that we know what we need to be doing for those next steps,
• 11:49
  you know and Natalie I think that that's a good point that we often think about a parent taking a child to the doctor and kind of being that that advocate for them or maybe taking an elderly parent and supporting them in that way.
• 12:02
  But I have found that especially if it's an appointment that I think might be emotional or that I have a lot of stress or anxiety over it that it is helpful to take a support person that maybe you know that obviously I trust but is maybe not as attached to the situation that can clearly think through this is what she's going to want to know later um that she may not realize it right now,
• 12:26
  but this is a question she's gonna want to know the answer to later and it can really be that second set of ears and kind of the more rational listener.
• 12:34
  Exactly.
• 12:34
  It's always great if possible,
• 12:36
  especially depending on what you're going through.
• 12:39
  You know,
• 12:39
  it's something specific a disease or treatment oriented to have someone there to help because as a patient you can just zone out as soon as you hear that diagnosis um and it can be hard to process everything that's coming at you.
• 12:52
  So definitely be your own advocate and write down those questions,
• 12:57
  write down your concerns,
• 12:58
  Bring that pad of paper with you,
• 13:00
  be part of your treatment plan,
• 13:03
  be part of your health care team and that can help prevent diseases and illnesses down the road.
• 13:08
  Thank you Natalie for joining us today and encouraging us to find our own voice and be our own advocate for our healthcare.
• 13:15
  Thank you for having me,
• 13:17
  thank you for listening to talking facts.
• 13:20
  We deliver programs focusing on nutrition,
• 13:23
  health,
• 13:24
  resource management,
• 13:25
  family development and civic engagement.
• 13:28
  If you enjoyed today's podcast.
• 13:29
  I have a question or a show topic idea.
• 13:32
  Leave a like and a comment on facebook at u k f c s e x t.
• 13:37
  Or send us an email at u k f c s e x t at u k y dot e d u,
• 13:44
  visit us online at FCS dot u k y dot e d u.
• 13:49
  To learn more about the University of Kentucky,
• 13:51
  family and Consumer Sciences extension program.
• 13:54
  Or contact your local extension agent for Family and Consumer sciences.
• 13:58
  We build strong families,
• 14:00
  we build Kentucky.
• 14:01
  It starts with us.