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Health literacy: a review
Miranda R Andrus1, Mary T Roth
1Department of Pharmacy Practice, Auburn University School of Pharmacy, Alabama, USA.
Pharmacotherapy
|March 20, 2002
Summary
Many adults struggle with basic literacy and functional health literacy, impacting their ability to understand health information. This can lead to poorer health outcomes and increased healthcare costs.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Health Communication
- Sociology
Background:
- Illiteracy is a significant issue in healthcare.
- National surveys reveal widespread deficiencies in reading and computation skills among adults.
- Functional health literacy involves understanding and acting on health information.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the prevalence and consequences of inadequate functional health literacy.
- To emphasize the need for the medical community to address this issue.
Main Methods:
- The study references findings from a national survey on adult literacy skills.
- It defines functional health literacy and estimates its prevalence in English-speaking patients.
Main Results:
- Nearly half of adults have deficits in reading or computation.
- Up to 48% of English-speaking patients lack adequate functional health literacy.
- Inadequate health literacy is linked to poorer health status and increased healthcare costs.
Conclusions:
- Inadequate functional health literacy negatively impacts patient health outcomes and healthcare system efficiency.
- Healthcare providers must develop strategies to support patients with limited health literacy.
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