Health Promotion, Health Literacy, and Prevention

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Public health and health promotion is something I am passionate about.  I enjoyed the lecture today from Professor Flick and learned several things about how occupational therapists can work in health promotion and health literacy.  One of the exciting things I learned in this lecture is that research has shown that the more hospitals spend on OT services, the lower their readmission rates are for clients.  Occupational therapists have a special role in providing education for caregivers and families and determining whether patients can live safely and independently or if they require more assistance.  Occupational therapists also promote healthy discharges by performing home safety assessments and recommendations for home modifications.  Through this lecture I also learned the importance of health literacy and making sure my clients understand their medical condition and know what they need to do to improve their condition.  As a practitioner I will need to be cognizant of the reading abilities of my clients and explain things in simple terms that are easy for them to understand. 

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