Research

Health literacy is defined as the ability to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services to make appropriate health decisions and live a healthy life. Health care documents, including diagnosis descriptions, prescription regiments and basic information about the human body, are written at a highly academic level. The style of writing is not compatible with  the  reading level of the average American, 5th grade.  In fact, even individuals with strong literacy skills can face health literacy challenges. National data suggests that is is becoming increasingly harder for Americans to make informed health care decisions.

All people, even those with high levels of education are at risk for not understanding, or misunderstanding their health care professional. The data shows that in almost all cases health care professionals believe they are communicating effectively. It has been found that patients may initially believe they understand their health care provider but misunderstand, or refrain from asking questions due to embarrassment. Only 12 % of Americans are proficiently literate when it comes to health care. 77 million US adults would have difficulty with common health care tasks, are not familiar with medical terms or how their bodies work, would have trouble following common prescription regiments and preventative care instructions.

The graphic to the rightbreaks down health care literacy in Americans as discovered by the National Association of Adult Literacy [ NAAL]. The table below outlines examples of the tasks required to understand at each level.