Factors Affecting Health Literacy Rates Within Cayce Homes

This review of literature will assess organizations influencing health literacy within Cayce Homes in Nashville, and then a new intervention will be proposed to fill the gaps that currently exist. Unfortunately, actual health literacy rates within Cayce Homes have not been measured, so assumptions made about Cayce’s health literacy status are based off demographic trends. First of all, higher levels of education are linked to higher health literacy (US Department of Health, 2013). Residents of Cayce Homes are zoned to attend Stratford High, which has a graduation rate of 62%, a rate much lower than the Nashville average of 87.1% (US News, 2013). Thus, fewer residents of Cayce Homes have a high school diploma, leaving them at-risk in regards to health literacy. Poverty is also linked to low health literacy rates (US Department of Health, 2013). As of 2014, 19% of Nashville residents were reported to live in poverty. According to Cayce United, all 2,000 residents of Cayce are in poverty, 87% are African American, 45% have disabilities, and 60% of households with children are single parent. Residents of Cayce are at risk for experiencing negative consequences linked with low health literacy. (Cayce United, 2015). What is health literacy? According to Singleton and Krause (2010), health literacy can be defined as â€Å"the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions† (p.