Kontakt 2018, 20(4):e370-e374 | DOI: 10.1016/j.kontakt.2018.10.010

The social dimension of health literacy in relation to cancerSocial Sciences in Health - Review article

Lucia Tóthová

Univerzita Pavla Jozefa Šafárika v Košiciach, Filozofická fakulta, Katedra sociálnej práce, Košice, Slovenská republika

This paper analyses the concept of health literacy. Its importance is growing due to the complexity of the patient care system, especially in the field of oncological disease. A certain level of health literacy is essential to understanding health information and services for patients. Oncology social work is not established in the conditions of Slovakia. Nevertheless, in the context of a holistic approach, the problem of oncological disease also begins to be perceived in the social dimension. Social worker services abroad become an inseparable segment of care for patients with an oncological diagnosis. In the author's opinion, health literacy should therefore imply knowledge of the social determinants of health, the social consequences of cancer, the possibilities of social work in the social treatment of the disease, as well as the services provided by the social worker. For this reason, this review study looks at the construct of health literacy from a social point of view, focusing on cancer patients specifically.

Keywords: Cancer; Health literacy; Social worker

Received: July 11, 2018; Revised: August 27, 2018; Accepted: October 16, 2018; Published: November 30, 2018  Show citation