Evening Session 1

Cancer care, health literacy & COVID-19

Health literacy is more topical than ever!

Organised by the Health Literacy Coalition (Standing Committee of European Doctors, European Patients Forum, Health Literacy Europe, MSD), funded by MSD

The current pandemic has called for people to acquire and apply health information and adapt their behavior at a fast pace. This was particularly true for cancer prevention, treatment and survivorship. Cancer diagnosis have dropped by 40% in the Netherlands during COVID-19 compared to previous years. In addition, cancer patients are regarded as a highly vulnerable group in the current pandemic due to their immunocompromised status. For cancer patients not only the behavior in information seeking but also the doctor-patient interactions have changed drastically, limiting face-to-face meetings. 

The need for health information or “health-system-navigation” support increased proportionally with the uncertainty following the pandemic. Ultimately, the pandemic has unveiled that along with system preparedness, individual preparedness is key for solving complex real-life problems. Does better health literacy really help in such a health crisis? How can health literacy be improved? Is Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan a unique opportunity to focus on health literacy as an essential requirement for better outcomes? Health literacy concerns us all – physicians, nurses, patients, citizens and governments - and a collaborative dialogue around the topic is critical to understanding the priorities and needs of each partner.

Join us in this digital evening session to explore how cancer patients can navigate the current crisis, and how we can work together towards better health literacy outcomes for all.

Organisers