Improving Low Health Literacy in Poststroke Patients by Educating the Health Care Staff

Abstract Lack of health literacy in the poststroke patient population is a serious issue; with the addition of the homeless population to that group, the result may be devastating. According to the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA, 2016), stroke is considered the primary cause of death and one of the chief reasons for disability in the United States, and nearly75% of strokes occur in those who are 65 years of age or older. Nurse practitioners are vital, providing necessary training and stroke education to the nursing and other health care staff. This DNP project was initiated to help implement clinical interventions and provide tools to the health care staff to help them educate patients after their stroke. This DNP project was designed to increase the health care staff’s awareness and understanding of poststroke literacy and to improve stroke literacy and stroke outcomes in their poststroke patients. Keywords: stroke, poststroke health literacy, stroke outcome, health care staf