Remarkably, more than 40 per cent of those who were sick chose to forgo medical advice or treatment, presenting an alarming statistic considering that one-third of Malaysian adults were found to have low levels of health literacy.
The NHMS 2019 defined health literacy as the “ability to find, to understand, and to use health information and services needed for everyday health decision making,” and stated that health literacy is important in terms of understanding health information, medical instructions, health risk factors, and practice of healthy lifestyle in order to be able to analyse risks and benefits of treatment and to arrange for health care appointments accordingly.
The public is advised to always ask health care providers questions related to one’s health condition and management, and over-the-counter medications or supplements; bring someone along to clinic or hospital to help with note taking on important information; and to be informed of one’s medical history such as current and prior health conditions, past surgeries, and medications as this is especially useful for when one visits a new clinic or hospital.
