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Written by: Emily Bruckner
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspxdirect=true&AuthType=sso&db=cms&AN=152720243&site=ehost-live&scope=site&custid=s3915890As a woman in her twenties, there are many things that have changed regarding my health journey. In order to be successful at being “healthy”, you have to go through new procedures, learn about new risks, be actively aware of your health and know how to communicate with the people trusted with your healthcare. As someone who was fearful of medicine and the jargon used to describe it, communicating my needs was a constant struggle. This is not to be limited to only women, as any person can experience this barrier in communication. In my personal experience, the acceptance of medication and therapy has expanded to new lengths, but the education on support outside of school systems is not as strong. There are several factors that could affect engagement and understanding of one’s medical needs.
In a research article called, eHealth platforms as user-data communication, these factors are roughly known as patients struggling to comprehend data they receive from their medical results. Another factor listed includes patients not having a communicative space to discuss the data and how having multiple people who have access to medical records can be a good thing (Mahnke, Nielsen 2021). The ideas of patient empowerment and not giving in to self-doubt are also illustrated throughout this research article.
As a young adult, it is important to gain independence when it comes to preparing to vouch for yourself when it comes to your own personal, medical needs. The study discusses the first factor listed, which involves struggling with the comprehension on numbers and notes commonly used throughout results. They include reasons as to why understanding can benefit the patients’ health. Control is maintained, questions are asked for clarification and self-reflection is administered (Mahnke, Nielsen 2021). Often, I found myself asked, “Do you have any questions?”, and the answer would most likely be no, or some random question that was phrased in a way that was unrecognizable from my intentions. Further knowledge about results and reflection are important in the process of communication.
This coincides with the suggestion of maintaining a space that you can discuss your medical results in in order to gain a better understanding and make the best decision for your health. This includes becoming more familiar with medical jargon, being proactive, familiarizing oneself with available websites and containing trusted information and communicating with your doctor about your needs. The research article demonstrates this by stating, “While there is general agreement in the medical field that access to data is beneficial to patients, there is a lack of research that looks deeper into how patients experience themselves through digital health” (Mahnke, Nielsen 2021). Giving patients the tools and not explaining how to use them, or present them in an accessible way can be a challenging task many people do not bother completing.
Reiterating the issue above, existence does not equal access, and therefore can be an issue with communication affecting your health. In order to make changes to improve your health journey, you have to be self-aware and willing to communicate to alter your ability. Data is often overwhelming for someone like me who strays far away from numbers and science. Perfectly put, the study quotes Lupton (2018:2), “making sense of the information, deciding how valid or valuable it is… to know their bodies better and more intensively and to work to interpret these novel forms of information about themselves (Mahnke, Nielsen 2021). This quote from the research article further provides support for the theory that communication can benefit your health.
By allowing myself to rely on my parents to deal with the medical aspect of my life, growing up in high school, it came as a shock when they suddenly expected me to be responsible for it all at once. Learning how to have a relationship with the people you see for medical care is important. Being able to communicate to those who we call experts in their fields certainly cannot do their job to the best of their ability if we do not participate in the goal of keeping ourselves healthy. Interacting with technology, scheduling appoints and discussing options are all things that contribute to communication with people who are responsible for our health.
Bruckner / September 26, 2023