November 14, 2013
Skin infection linked to poor health education
Problems Maori parents have in understanding health information is a factor in the high number of Maori children ending up in hospital with skin infections.
A new Health Ministry report done in associaiton with Workbase Education Trust has identified difficulty in reading and understanding health information, poor communication between health professionals and their patients, and information overload as the key health literacy barriers.
It says New Zealand has one of the highest rates for childhood skin infections in the western world, with Maori children more than one and a half times more likely than non-Maori to be hospitalised due to skin infections.
Associate Health Minister Tariana Turia says skin infections can cause discomfort, embarrassment, and acute pain.
Between 2005 and 2009 they were the third most common cause of hospitalisations among Maori children, accounting for 10 percent of hospital admissions.
Mrs Turia says the health system needs to improve the way information is presented so that it is easily understood and useful for everyone
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