Improving Health Literacy: One Hundred Ideas
Health literacy is widely defined as the degree to which individuals have interest in and the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.
Limited health literacy affects people’s ability to search for and use health information, adopt healthy behaviors or avoid harmful or unhealthy behaviors, and act on public health alerts. Limited health literacy is also associated with worse health outcomes and higher costs.
When individuals understand basic concepts of health and well-being, such as illnesses, bodily functions, regimens of treatment and care, and so on, they are described as having proficient health literacy skills.
Although dated (2003, so 21 years ago) the National Assessment of Adult Literacy reported that just 12 percent of Americans possess competent health literacy skills, making the need for greater health literacy among the general population apparent.
{Cohort Virtual} 2024-CT-VUSA-101