What general relationships exist between illiteracy and poor health?
• Economically disadvantaged people, who are more likely to be illiterate, are also more likely to 1) be exposed to environmental and occupational hazards which impact health; 2) have limited or substandard educational, housing, and employment opportunities which affect health; and 3) have limited access to health promotion, disease prevention, and curative programs which ensure health. Many of these people face triple jeopardy because of a combination of minority status, poverty, and communication barriers. (Source: Healthy People 2000) • One-third of Medicare beneficiaries surveyed were unable to adequately understand basic health-related materials. (Source: 1997 Prudential Health Literacy Study) • Patients with low literacy levels are more likely to report poor health conditions. (Source: National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy Report #14) • Poor literacy may lead to the improper use of medication, rehospitalization, incurable cancer that may have been detected
