Do rehabilitation professionals need to consider their clients' health literacy for effective practice?

To discuss the importance of integrating health literacy into rehabilitation practice.

The effectiveness of rehabilitation interventions and clients' long-term health might depend on various factors, including health literacy. Health literacy is defined as the ability to access, understand, evaluate and communicate information as a way to promote, maintain and improve health in a variety of settings over the life-course. Rehabilitation professionals are often uniformed about and neglect health literacy in their interventions.

The scientific and grey literature on health and, more specifically, rehabilitation and health promotion was reviewed. The MEDLINE, OTDBASE, CINAHL, AMED and MANTIS databases were searched by combining the keyword (1) 'health literacy' with the keywords (2) 'rehabilitation', 'physical therapy', 'occupational therapy' or 'health promotion'.

Health literacy is one of the foundations of individual health and might have an impact on interventions, the individual and society. All papers addressing both health literacy and rehabilitation (n = 10) specifically mentioned that rehabilitation professionals need to consider their clients' health literacy. Rehabilitation is particularly linked to health literacy because both stress the importance of (1) capacities, functioning, participation and empowerment of clients; (2) holistic approach; (3) client-centred practice; (4) teaching of information and methods; and (5) access to services and equity issues.

Based on these results, we think it is important that rehabilitation professionals be aware of the importance of health literacy and intervene to improve it. The challenge is now to better understand how health literacy influences the effectiveness of rehabilitation and health outcomes.