Why is Low Health Literacy a Problem?
Low health literacy affects a person’s ability to make informed decisions about his or her health and can result in the ineffective treatment and rehabilitation of a patient’s condition. Poor levels of health literacy exist in all countries. For example, a 1995 US study found that one third of English-speaking hospital patients could not read or understand basic health materials (Williams et al, 1995): • Some 42 % could not understand instructions to take medication on an empty stomach. • 25% did not understand information on an appointment slip. • 60 % did not understand a standard consent form. The elderly and those in poor overall health had the worst health literacy. How Can Low Health Literacy be Overcome or Improved? IAPO has developed a Policy Statement on health literacy, which calls all stakeholders involved in healthcare to: • Acknowledge the problem of low health literacy worldwide • Review the health-related information they produce and how this is communicated • Revise exi
