Health literacy
Introduction
Health literacy is the ability to make informed health decisions in the context of everyday life (Kickbusch et al, 2005). It involves a range of skills including:
Basic health knowledge - Reading, comprehending and evaluating health information
- Verbal communication with health professionals
- Health decision-making
Without adequate health literacy, patients face serious difficulties accessing, understanding and making effective use of health information. Little is known about the extent of health literacy problems in the UK, but recent studies from the USA estimate that nearly half of the adult population (some 90 million people) are affected (Institute of Medicine 2004).
As part of our work in this area, PiF will be:
Without adequate health literacy, patients face serious difficulties accessing, understanding and making effective use of health information.
- Raising awareness of health literacy and the importance of clear health communication
- Working with patients and carers to explore how they make sense of and use health information, and support needs associated with this
- Sharing knowledge and best practice around building health literacy
- Providing links to relevant organisations and practical resources
References
Kickbusch I et al (2005) Enabling healthy choices in modern health societies. Background paper, European Health Forum Gastein, 6-8 October 2005
Institute of Medicine (2004) Health literacy: a prescription to end confusion. Washington DC: The National Academies Press
Page last edited: 15 December 2010
