Information Literacy In Nursing Practice Essay

Information literacy, health literacy and information technology skills is essential in the nursing practice as it helps nurses to find, evaluate, understand, interpret and use information for the right purpose. With the high use of technology in our society, it can be confusing to find the right sources, evaluate it and use it. Nurses need to be information literate to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to find it using the right sources, evaluate the information and use it effectively based on the necessary need of the patient. Health literacy is essential as it would help nurses to process, and understand basic health information and services that are required to make decisions about patient care. Nurses also
Nursing practice is based on EBP, and nurses need the ability to identify, locate and interpret research evidence. Nurses are expected to have the ability to retrieve evidence-based resources, analyze the information and implement practical interventions when caring for the patient. “Information literacy skills are the fundamentals of Evidence-Based Practice” (Phelps. Hyde, Wolf, 2015). Nurses are encouraged to use evidence-based practice and validated information for patient education and care. It would be dangerous to use information out of date, false, and misleading for patient information and care.
Health literacy is not all about the ability for the patient or nurses to read, but the capacity to process and understand basic health information and services to make appropriate health decisions (Sewell, 2015). For example, patients need to be health literate to be able to understand appointment slips, doctor’s directions, medical education brochures, consent forms, prescription drug bottles, and the ability to negotiate complex health care system. When a patient is literate in health information, it decreases hospitalization, medications errors, and preventions of diseases (Sewell,