Every fourth German does not understand his doctor

Study: One in four can not implement doctor information

07/15/2014

According to a new study by the AOK, many Germans do not understand their doctor. One quarter of the insured can not therefore implement what the doctor advises them. This apparently also correlates with a lack of health literacy of the patients. Therefore, more health education is required in school lessons.

Many insured persons can not implement doctor information

In Germany, every fourth person covered by statutory health insurance has difficulties in implementing doctor information independently. This emerges from a still unpublished representative study of the scientific institute of the AOK (WIdO), which the „Rheinische Post“ (Tuesday). Accordingly, it is not good for the health of the insured overall. According to the study, 60 percent of Germans have one „problematic“ or „inadequate“ Health literacy.

Only Bulgarians worse than Germans

The Germans score poorly in European comparison. The Federal Republic is on the penultimate place of the eight countries in which citizens were asked about their health literacy. Only the Bulgarians are worse. On the other hand, the health literacy of the Austrians, the Greeks, the Spaniards, the Irish, the Dutch and the Poles is higher than that of the Germans. „We have to realize that the image of the sovereign patient has gotten scratches“, The boss of the AOK Federal Association, Jürgen Graalmann, told the newspaper.

Health education required in school lessons

„Even academics have problems understanding health-related information“, so Graalmann. He called the results surprising and demanded that even in school lessons „health education“ must be anchored more firmly. Already last year, a representative survey of the Max Planck Institute for Educational Research in cooperation with the Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung (GfK) in nine European countries came to the conclusion that citizens' health knowledge has great shortcomings.

Citizens with health literacy

The managing director of the Max Planck Institute for Educational Research, Gerd Gigerenzer, was then amazed that „Even people with hypertension or obesity who are at an increased risk of heart attack or stroke, only a little better informed“ are, as the average of the population. The experts came to the conclusion that what was needed most, „more citizens with health literacy and doctors who have the time to inform their patients“, are. (Ad)